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SUFFERINGS 



ENDURED FOR A FREE GOVERNMENT; 



A. HISTORY 



Cruelties m& atrocities of t\t Jvckllion 



Facts stranger than Fiction." 



BY 

THOS. L. WILSON. 



E?4-58 

n 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year IS 04, hy 

THOMAS L. WILSON, 

In the Gerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Oj)amtna. 






PRINTED BY SMITH & PETERS, 

Franklin Buildings, Sixth St., below Arch, 

Philadelphia. 



V 

CONTENTS. 



PAQR 

Introduction 7 



PART I.— TREATMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR BY THE 
REBEL GOVERNMENT. 

Preliminary 13 

Bull Run Atrocities . . . . . . . .14 

Barbarous Treatment of Twenty-Two Prisoners near Chatta- 
nooga 26 

Treatment of Union Prisoners at Richmond .... 35 
Wretched condition of Union Prisoners, released from Rich- 
mond 45 

Released Prisoners 51 

Treatment of Prisoners captured at the Battle of Chickamauga 58 

The Fort Pillow Massacre 64 

PART II.— PERSECUTION OF UNIONISTS IN THE REVOLTED 
STATES; OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS, ETC. 

Preliminary . 81 

Inauguration of the Reign of Terror 82 

Murder of Mr. Turner 85 

Murder of Marshall Glaze, Jr., and others .... 85 

Murder of Rev. James Webster . . . ... .86 

Outrages on Union People in North Carolina .... 87 

Murder of a one-armed Man in North Carolina . . .91 



Barbarous Treatment of Union Sympathizers in the Rebel Army 92 

Murder of Three Brothers 93 

Assault on Mr. Grier, a Kentucky State Senator ... 94 

Outrages on the People in the Mountain Districts of Kentucky 97 

(iii) * 



IV CONTENTS. 

PAOB 

Depredations in Kentucky by Humphrey Marshall's and 

Cluke'sMen 98 

Murder of James McCullum 100 

Atrocities of Champ Furguson 101 

Assault on two aged Union Men in East Tennessee . . 103 

Assault upon Mr. Johnson, of Clinton County, Tennessee . 104 

Murder of Jesse Bright and others 105 

Sufferings of Union men in East Tennessee .... 106 

Murder of Dr. Rice and others 107 

Hanging of Mr. Stewart 107 

Murder of a Deranged Woman 108 

Attack on General J. B. Rogers's House 109 

Murder of old Mr. Wood 110 

Murder of an Old Man and his Three Sons . . . .112 

Murder of Phileneas Plumley 113 

Attacks upon J. J. Palmer's House 114 

Horrible Outrages committed in Alabama and Mississippi . 115 

Hanging of John W. Buck 118 

Murder of Dr. Alyward 119 

Bushwacking in Missouri 119 

Outrages committed by Moseby 120 

Fiendish Atrocities in Texas — Murder of Mr. McKees . . 122 
Murder of Mr. James and Mr. Marshall . . . .126 

Murder of Captain Montgomery 131 

Horrible Cruelties of the Rebels to the Germans in Texas . 132 

Barbarities of Texan Rangers 133 

Massacre at Baxter Springs ....... 134 

Murder of a Lad, Fount Zackery 138 

Barbarity of Missouri Guerrillas 138 

Outrages in East Tennessee 139 

Murder of Colonel McCook 142 

Firing on a Hospital-Boat 144 

Assault on the Family of Mr. John Young, and Heroic Conduct 

of his Daughters 144 

Murder of Dr. William McGlassen 147 

Firing on United States Boats after the Surrender of Natchez 148 

Williamsburg Barbarities 149 

Firing on Women and Children for Cheering for the Old Flag 150 

Murder of a German ........ 151 

Violation of a Flag of Truce . . . 152 



CONTENTS. V 

PAOV 

Firing upon a Boat's Crew without Previous Summons to 

Surrender 153 

Rebel Female Duplicity ending in Murder .... 154 

Murder of Joseph Stover 156 

Si Gordon 157 

Murder of Mr. Tabor 158 

Firing on Drowning Men 160 

Massacre of Americans and Germans in Texas . . . 161 

Sacking of Lawrence 164 

Murder of Mr. Lewis Pierce 187 

Violation of a Flag of Truce 188 

Persecution of Union Men in the South-West .... 189 
Reasons for Deserting the Rebel Service— Reign of Terror in 

Texas 190 

Murder of William Johnson 194 

Assassination of Mr. Hough 194 

Shooting Prisoners 196 

Murder of Mr. William Frogg 198 

Firing on Drowning Men 199 

Murder of Captives in Tennessee, by Shooting and Drowning 200 

Atrocities committed by Indians in the Rebel Service . . 202 

Fiendish Cruelty of General Hindman 204 

Letter from General Rodgers 205 

Murderous Assault on Unarmed Negroes on Hutchinson's 

Island, South Carolina 206 

Proposed Treatment of Union Prisoners 209 

Hanging of John Bemen for uttering Union Sentiments . . 209 

Violence towards Northern People. — Outrage on a Lady . 210 
Persecution of Union Men, and Facility of Guerrillas in taking 

the Oath of Allegiance 211 

Proclamation of Martial Law in Missouri, by Major-General 
Fremont, for the Suppression of Rebel Depredations and 

Violence 212 

Treatment of Suspected Union Men in Virginia . . . 214 
Inhumanity towards Negroes on the Government Plantations 

in Mississippi 220 

Tennessee 222 

Indignities to Andrew Johnson, late U. S. Senator, now Mili- 
tary Governor of Tennessee 230 

Attack upon Memphis, Tennessee 231 

1* 



VI CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

Attack upon Brandenburg, Kentucky 235 

General Hunter's Circular 235 

Approval of the Black Flag 238 

Barbarism 239 

Burning of Chambersburg, Pa 242 

Sufferings of Union Men in Texas 258 

Cruelty to an Ohio Soldier . . . . . . 264 

Horrible Murder of a Sailor 265 

An intended Wholesale Murder 265 

Guerrilla Barbarities in Virginia 266 

Raising the Black Flag 267 

Firing on Shipwrecked Sailors ...... 268 

Barbarities of the Rebels towards their own Soldiers . .271 
The Conversion by the Rebels of the Bones of Slaughtered 

Union Men into Personal Ornaments .... 272 

Barbarity of General Forrest 273 

Unionists of Arkansas . 274 

Murder of Two Unionists in Arkansas 275 

Barbarity of John Letcher . 2 7 6 

Capture of the Steamer Leviathan 277 

Murder of Major Wileman 278 

Proclamation of Andrew Johnson 279 

Proclamation of General Loan : 280 

Guerrillas of Kentucky 281 

Jeff Davis and Major-General B. F. Butler .... 282 

Hanging of Union Captives 284 

Massacre of Negro Soldiers 284 

Devilish Torture 287 

Murder of Carter Foster 287 

The Doctrine of State Rights practically repudiated by the 

Rebel Authorities 288 

General Sherman 292 

Bushwhacking and the Black Flag encouraged and commended 

by the Rebel Press 294 

Guerrilla Warfare sanctioned hj the Rebel Authorities . . 297 



INTRODUCTION. 



Our country, during the last four years, has been the 
theatre of a rebellion, which, in point of magnitude and 
enormity, has scarcely a parallel in the world's history. 
Conceived in sin and born in iniquity, it has been, from 
the beginning, a monstrous exhibition of human de- 
pravity, and characterized by cruelties and atrocities 
supposed to be peculiar to barbarians only. These 
atrocities, although beggaring description, and almost 
exceeding belief, are yet substantiated by evidence 
abundant and superabundant. 

To give an account of these atrocities, is the design 
of the following work. The author was led to its prepa- 
ration by what he has seen and suffered. A Southern 
man by birth and education, he was on his way home- 
ward at the breaking out of the rebellion. At Rich- 
mond, Virginia, his progress was suddenly arrested, by 
acts of violence and threats of incarceration, on account 
of his refusal to take the oath of allegiance to the rebel 
government. With difficulty he effected his escape, and 
succeeded in reaching Washington, D. C. Thrown out 
of employment — cut off from his resources — cast among 
strangers — suffering keenly in many ways, and sympa- 
thizing deeply with the persecuted Unionists of the 
revolted States — he was naturally led to think much of 
the causeless character, and enormous wickedness, and 
hideous barbarism of the revolt. In this course of 
thought the present work had its origin. 

At first, the author's ideal was somewhat indefinite; 
but as he thought, and read, and wrote, it gradually as- 
sumed .vape and grew into its present proportions. 

(7) 



Vlll INTRODUCTION. 

The author makes no pretensions to literary eminence. 
He has aimed only at a simple and truthful presentation 
of facts, and has taken great pains to insert nothing but' 
well-authenticated facts. Comments he has generally 
avoided, although strongly tempted thereto by his own 
feelings, preferring to let the facts speak for themselves. 
He is fully persuaded that his book gives only a faint 
picture of the reality. This is confirmed by the concur- 
rent testimony of thousands upon thousands of refugees 
from the land of bondage — of men who, on account of 
their love for the Union which pur fathers formed, have 
been driven from the revolted States, leaving home, and 
kindred, and the accumulations of years, perhaps of a 
lifetime. They tell us that the whole cannot be told — 
that the reality exceeds our conceptions. 

But why, it may be asked, present to the public such 
a revolting picture of cruelty and crime ? How else is 
the animus of the rebellion, which has filled the land 
with sighs and tears, with broken hearts and stricken 
households, to be brought out to view and placed in a 
clear light ? How else is the character of the conspira- 
tors against a beneficent government, which made them 
the chief recipients of its favors, and loaded them with 
its benefits, to be unfolded and made fully manifest ? 
How else are measures to be adopted, wisely and ef- 
fectively, for subduing a revolt of such immense pro- 
portions and enormous wickedness ? How else is 
sympathy to be awakened, and relief secured for our 
suffering soldiers, taken captive in battle, and groaning, 
starving, shivering, dying in Southern prisons — and for 
the persecuted Unionists of the rebellious States, robbed 
of their property, driven from their homes, hiding in 
dens and caves, hunted with bloodhounds, forced into 
the rebel service — subject to every species of indignity 
and wrong if suffered to live? Have they no claims 
upon us ? Have we no duties in regard to them ? How 
else is it to be known what it has cost them, and what 
praise and admiration they deserve for adhering to the 
old flag ? To adhere to the Union has cost us compara- 
tively little ; but what has it not cost the Unionists of 
East Tennessee and Texas ? And for it, will they not 



INTRODUCTION. IX 

deserve to be held up for admiration, in all ages and 
generations? But how can this be made known or pro- 
perly estimated, without a recital of the atrocities to 
which they have been subjected ? 

How else are men to learn what is the natural fruit 
of that institution, which has so long been paramount 
in the revolted states, penetrating all the relations of life, 
underlying all measures, and overshadowing all interests, 
giving shape and tone to society in all its departments, 
and manifestations to its civilization, its literature, and 
even its religion ? These atrocities are the natural out- 
growth of slavery, and show it to be barbarous in its 
tendencies and results, as well as in its origin. Such an 
institution, trampling upon the rights of man, ignoring 
the social relations of husband and wife, of parent and 
child, reducing one class to a state of chattelism, and 
making irresponsible despots of another, cannot but 
foment the worst passions, and be productive of violence 
and bloodshed. This, in substance, was long since 
affirmed by the illustrious author of the Declaration of 
Independence, and it is confirmed by the present rebel- 
lion. In these atrocities may be seen, what is the state 
of -society which it produces, what is the civilization it 
admits of, what is the Christianity to which it gives 
shape. 

But it maybe said that atrocities have been committed 
on the Union side. This is doubtless true. But they 
have been comparatively limited in number and enormity, 
and have usually met with exemplary punishment when 
detected. Our people and our Government, our officers 
and our soldiers, have been slow to retaliate, when deeds 
of barbarism have been committed by the rebels. It 
may be question sd whether they have not forborne 
when forbearance ceased to be a virtue. Fort Pillow, 
which will constitute one of the bloodiest pages of history, 
remains unavenged. The starving and shooting and 
bayoneting of prisoners of war, so common by the rebels, 
have never been imitated by us. While Unionists in 
the revolted states are hunted down like wild beasts by 
blood-hounds, Secession sympathizers among us arc 



X INTRODUCTION. 

usually unmolested and allowed freely to utter their 
sentiments. 

It may be said further that these atrocities are in many 
cases the work of guerrillas. But when or where, have 
they been repudiated and condemned by the rebel 
authorities ? When or where have the authors of them 
been punished on account of them ? In how many cases 
have they been commended and extolled, and rewarded 
with the honors and emoluments of office ? 

But it may be said, still further, that the atrocities 
recorded in this book are isolated and extreme cases, 
and do not present a fair view of the matter. Would 
that this were true ! But so far is this from being true, 
that the picture, as already intimated, is altogether too 
faint. The atrocities related in this book are only 
specimens; mere selections from an immense mass of 
hideous deeds of barbarism. Were the whole to be 
recorded, the mind would tire of, and recoil from the 
recital ; were the whole to be recorded, volumes would 
be required. Barbarism has characterized the rebellion 
from the beginning to the present hour, in every state, 
and county, and town, and village, and hamlet. It 
originated in barbarism ; has been prosecuted with bar- 
barism ; and may its overthrow be the overthrow of bar- 
barism, and give place to a higher civilization, and a 
purer Christianity ! 

Believing that these atrocities should be held up for 
the execration of mankind; that they illustrate great 
and fundamental truths in morals and politics ; that a 
brief record of them is necessary for the instruction of 
his countrymen, the author commits the work to the 
public, in the hope that it may be of some little service 
to the country and the world. 



PART 1. 

TREATMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR BY THE 

REBEL GOVERNMENT, AND ITS 

AUTHORIZED AGENTS. 



TREATMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 



BT 



THE REBEL GOVERNMENT. 



PRELIMINARY. 

The advancing civilization of centuries, tlie cultiva- 
tion of literature, the diffusion of knowledge, the exten- 
sion of commerce, the increasing intercourse of nations, 
and above all, the prevalence of Christianity with its 
benign and subduing influences, has not been without 
effect on the treatment of prisoners of war. Once it 
was the rule that they should be slain without mercy, or 
reduced to a state of abject bondage. But now we are 
horrified by the accounts of such conduct which have 
come down to us from past ages, and execrate the 
memory of the cruel and bloody men who showed no 
mercy to the unfortunate prisoner of war. Even a 
Roman triumphal procession, however imposing, is to 
us revolting, on account of the position and treatment 
of the captive. 

Now, it is required among civilized and Christian 
nations, that prisoners of war should be treated hu- 
2 (13) 



14 BULL KUN ATROCITIES. 

manely; that, in ordinary cases at least, their lives 
should be spared, their persons protected, their feelings 
regarded, their wounds dressed, their pains assuaged, 
and their wants supplied. The opposite of this is justly 
regarded as barbarous, and branded as infamous. How 
all these rules have been violated by the Rebel Govern- 
ment and its authorized agents, the following pages will 
show. 

How differently have Confederate prisoners of war 
been treated by our own government ! Instead of being 
subjected to indignity and wrong, how generally have 
they been treated with great kindness! As yet Fort 
Pillow remains unavenged, although the cry runs through 
the revolted States, "Repeat Fort Pillow!" 



BULL RUN ATROCITIES. 

That barbarities of a hideous nature were perpetrated 
by the Rebels upon the Union soldiers who fell into 
their hands at the battle of Bull Run ; that prisoners of 
war were shot and bayoneted; that the wounded and 
dying were treated with neglect and inhumanity ; that 
the dead were outraged, and the very grave was dese- 
crated and despoiled, in a manner supposed to be charac- 
teristic only of savages; are abundantly confirmed by 
the sworn testimony of men of the highest standing — 
such as Senator Sprague of Rhode Island, General James 
B. Ricketts, Mr. Daniel Bixby of Washington, D. C, 
Surgeons J. M. Honiston and William F. Swalen, Four- 
teenth New York Volunteers, Dr. James B. Greeley, 
Rev. Frederic Denison, and Frederic Seholes, Esq., of 
Brooklyn, New York. 



BULL RUN ATROCITIES. 15 



TESTIMONY OF SURGEON HONISTON. 

I was made prisoner on the field, and immediately 
taken inside the enemy's lines. I told them that my wish 
was to attend to the wounded men, there were so many 
of them wounded and crippled; that I had remained 
voluntarily with them for that purpose. I asked as a 
privilege that I should be permitted to attend them. 
Two of the surgeons then permitted me to go to work 
and attend to the wounded. I did so until dark, when a 
guard came up and said that I must accompany them. I 
told them that it was my wish to remain on the field ; 
that I desired to remain all night with the wounded men, 
as there were so many who needed attention, and some 
of them in a very helpless and painful condition, and suf- 
fering for water. I protested against being sent from the 
field at that time. 

They became very rude, and talked in a very ugly 
way, and insisted on my going with them. They marched 
me, with a part}' of prisoners, mostly privates, to Ma- 
nassas ; they did not offer us even water, let alone any- 
thing in the shape of food ; we stood in the streets of 
Manassas about an hour with a guard around us ; a crowd 
collected about us, hooting and threatening, in a very 
boisterous way, what they would do with us. We were 
finally put into an old building, and left to sleep on the 
floor there, without anything in the shape of food being 
given us. In the morning, those of us who were sur- 
geons, were brought before the medical, director, as he 
was called, who took our names, and then sent us back 
to the battle-field ; there were three of us in that party. 
We told them we were already faint and exhausted, 
having been without food for twenty hours. They gave , 
us some cold bacon, and sent us back to the battle-field. 



16 BULL RUN ATROCITIES. 

When we reached the battle-field they took us to the 
Lewis House, as it is called ; they had commenced bring- 
ing the wounded in there, mostly their own. They finally 
allowed us to have an ambulance, and we commenced 
picking up our wounded, and bringing them in ourselves, 
a guard all the while accompanying us ; we were then 
ordered to report ourselves to a Secession surgeon, a Dr. 
Darby, of South Carolina. He said he had been sent 
there by General Beauregard to take charge of the 
wounded. He would not allow us to perform operations 
upon our own men, but had them performed by his as- 
sistants, young men, some of them with no more know- 
ledge of what they attempted to do than an apothecary's 
clerk. They performed the operations upon our men in 
a most horrible manner ; some of them were absolutely 
frightful. 

It was almost impossible for us to get anything for 
our wounded men there to eat ; they paid no attention to 
us whatever. We suffered very much on account of the 
want of any kind of food for our men. They would not 
even bring water to us. On the Monday night after the 
battle, all the wounded in that old house were lying there 
upon the floor as thickly as they could be laid. There 
was not a particle of light of any kind in the house to 
enable us to move about among the wounded. They were 
suffering very much for water ; but with all the persua- 
sion I could use they would not bring us any water, and 
the guard stationed about the house prevented us from 
going after any. Fortunately, I might say, it rained 
that night, and through the open windows the rain beat 
in, and ran down the floor among the wounded, wetting 
and chilling them ; still I was enabled, by setting some 
cups under the eaves, to catch a little water for our poor 
soldiers to drink, ani in that way I spent all the night, 



BULL RUN ATROCITIES. 17 

catching water from the eaves, and carrying it to our 
wounded to drink. As there was no light in the house, 
it being perfectly dark, I was obliged to crawl on my 
hands and knees to avoid stepping on their wounded 
limbs. It is not a matter of wonder that the next morn- 
ing several had died there during the night. They 
seemed to be perfectly indifferent to the sufferings of our 
men — entirely so. There was occasionally a man here 
and there, who seemed to have no connection with the 
army at all, who appeared desirous to extend some kindly 
assistance to our wounded ; but those connected in any 
way with their army seemed to try to do everything to 
show their perfect indifference. 

Some of our wounded lay upon the battle-field until 
the Wednesday after the battle. More were brought in 
Tuesday night and Wednesday morning with their 
wounds completely alive with larvae deposited by flies. 
They had lain out there through all the rain-storm of 
Monday, and the hot, sultry sunshine of Tuesday, and 
their wounds were completely alive with larvae when 
they were brought in on Tuesday night and Wednesday. 
Our dead lay upon the field unburied, to my knowledge, 
for five days. 

TESTIMONY OF SURGEON SWALEN. 

I was at the Lewis House from fourteen to fifteen days. 
One afternoon Captain Withington and myself took a 
walk over the battle-field. This was some ten or twelve 
days after the battle. As we walked around, I saw some 
of our men still unburied, and some entirely naked — 
shoes, stockings, everything they had on stripped from 
them, and their bodies left exposed naked on the field. 
Yet I saw a great many women, ladies I suppose they 
called themselves, walking about the field at that time, 
2* 



18 BULL RUN ATROCITIES. 

apparently entirely unmoved. I should judge that I 
saw ten or twelve of the Fourteenth New York Eegiment 
unburied, many of the Seventy-first Eegiment, and a 
number of others whose regiments I did not recognise. 

At the time I went for two wounded men, on the 
Wednesday morning after the battle, I saw them (the 
rebels) digging some trenches, and saw some two or three 
Union soldiers buried. They paid no attention as to 
how they put them in, but put them in face downwards, 
or in any other way, just as it happened. They buried 
a number in a ravine that had been washed out by the 
rains, throwing the bodies into the ravine, and covering 
them up with the earth. In going over the battle-field 
subsequently, I noticed where some of the graves had 
been opened by pushing rails down under the bodies 
and prying them up. Many of the. negroes said that they 
had seen the soldiers doing that. The object, as I was 
informed, was to make-drinking cups of the tops of the 
skulls, and rings of the bones. 

Dr. Ferguson, of New York, was taking his ambulance 
for the wounded, when he was fired upon. He took off 
his green sash to show his calling, and his handkerchief, 
as a sort of flag of truce, and waved them. A party 
rode up to him and asked him who he was. He told 
them that he was a surgeon of the New York State 
Militia. They said they would take a parting shot at 
him, any way. They fired at him, and shot him in the 
leg. He was taken prisoner and laid in the ambulance. 
He had his boots on, and his spurs on his boots, and as 
they drove along, his spurs would catch in the tail-board, 
causing him such agony that he screamed out. One 
of their officers rode up to him, and placed his pistol at 
his head, and threatened if he screamed again he would 
shoot him. This was on Sunday, the day of the battle. 



BtJLL RUN ATROCITIES. 19 



TESTIMONY OF GENERAL RICKETTS. 

A party of rebels passed by where I was lying 
wounded on the battle-field, and called out — referring to 
me — "Knock out his brains, the d d Yankee!" 

I could from my room (in Kichmond) overlook the place 
where they buried our dead. I know they were buried 
in the negro burying-ground, among the negroes. They 
had no funeral service over them, but they were just 
taken out and put in the ground in the most unfeeling 
manner. 

The general treatment of the prisoners there, I thought, 
was very bad indeed. We were very much crowded. 
Our diet was very meagre indeed. I subsisted mainly 
upon what I purchased with my own money, which my 
wife brought me. 

There were a number of our men (prisoners) shot. On 
one occasion, there were two shot, one was killed and 
the other wounded. ***** I heard of a great many 
of our prisoners who had been bayoneted and shot. I 
saw three of them, two of them had been bayoneted, and 
one of them had been shot — one of them was named 
Lewis Francis, of the New York Fourteenth. He had 
received fourteen bayonet- wounds ; and he had one 
wound, very much like mine, on the knee, in conse- 
quence of which his leg was amputated after some twelve 
weeks had passed. And I would state here that, in re- 
gard to his case, when it was determined to amputate 
his leg, I heard Dr. Peachy, the surgeon, remark to one 
of his young assistants, " I won't be greedy, you may do 
it ;" and the young man did it. There was a man named 
Briggs, of a Michigan regiment, who has a scar on his 
hand now from a bayonet-wound. He says he saw the 
rebels coming, bayoneting and pillaging the pockets of 



20 BULL RUN ATROCITIES. 

the dead. He had a little portmonnaie, with about eight 
dollars in it ; he put it inside his shirt, and let it fall down 
his back, and lay down on it; he was wounded, shot 
below the knee somewhere. When they came to him, 
they asked for his money, and commenced thrusting a 
bayonet at him — he caught it in his hand, and as they 
withdrew it his hand was cut by it. 

I heard a doctor on the steps below my room say that 
he wished he could take out the hearts of the d — d 
Yankees as easily as he could take off their legs. * * * * 

My wife, in the first place, joined me while I was at 
the Lewis House, on the field of battle. The first rumor 
she heard was that I was killed. "When she heard that 
I was alive, but wounded, she started with her carriage 
and horses to come to me. She almost had to fight her 
way out there, but succeeded finally in reaching me on 
the fourth day after the battle. There were eight per- 
sons in the Lewis House in the room where I lay, and 
my wife for two weeks slept in that room on the floor 
by my side without a bed, When we got to Richmond 
there were six of us in a room, among them Colonel 
Wilcox, who remained with us until he was taken to 
Charleston. There we were, all in that one room. There 
was no door to it ; and in the hot summer months the 
stench from their wounds and from the utensils they used 
was fearful. There was no privacy at all, because, there 
being no door, the room could not be closed. The hos- 
pital was an unfinished building, one half of the windows 
being out of it ; and there we were, a common show. * * * 
The people would come in there and say all sorts of 
things to us and about us. In fact, people that I knew, 
would come in and commence discussions, until I was 
obliged to tell them that I was a prisoner and had nothing 
to say. When we went down to Richmond in tae cars 



BULL RUN ATROCITIES. 21 

from Manassas, wherever we stopped, crowds of people 
would gather around and stare at us. At Gordonsviile, 
particularly, crowds of women came around to see the 
prisoners and the Yankee woman. They would ask my 
wife if she cooked, if she washed, and how she got there. 
Finally, Mrs. Kicketts appealed to the officer in charge, 
and told him that it was not the intention that we should 
be subjected to this treatment, and that if it was con- 
tinued she would make it known to the authorities. He 
then said that he would stop it. General Johnston took 
my wife's horses and carriages away from her at Manas- 
sas, and kept them, and has them yet for aught I know. 
When we got down to Eichmond I spoke to several gen- 
tlemen about it, and so did Mrs. Eicketts. They said 
that of course the carriage and horses would be returned. 
But they never were. Instead of that, when I was ex- 
changed, and we were about to leave, they refused Mrs. 
Eicketts a transportation ticket to Norfolk, obliging her 
to purchase it. Dr. Gibson, who was in charge of the 
hospital, when he heard of it, said that such a thing was 
very extraordinary in General Winder, and that he would 
speak to him about it. I said that it made no difference, 
though I thought as General Johnston had taken her 
carriage and horses and left her on foot, it would be 
nothing more than fair to give her a ticket to Norfolk. 

I must say that I have a debt that I desire very 
much to pay, and nothing troubles me so much now as 
the fact that my wounds prevent me from entering upon 
active service at once. 

TESTIMONY OP SENATOR SPRAGUE. 

In that part of the field where I was, our wounded 
were taken to two different places — one was a storehouse 
at the point where the engagement first took place, the 



22 BULL RUX ATROCITIES. 

other was about three-quarters of a mile in the rear of 
the battle-field. Colonel Slocum and Major Ballou were 
taken to a position at the rear. When the retreat com- 
menced, we had in this hospital, as it was termed, several 
wounded rebel officers ; and there were also several of 
our men there, who were promised, if they would stay 
with them, that they should be released. They did re- 
main. When I went out there a few days since, I took 
three men with me to designate the places where these 
officers had been buried. On reaching the place, we 
commenced digging for the bodies of Colonel Slocum and 
Major Ballou at the spot which was pointed out to us by 
those soldiers. 

While we were digging there, some negro women came 
up, and asked whom we were looking for ; and at the 
same time said that "Colonel Slogan" had been dug up 
by the rebels — some men of a Georgia regiment — 
his head cut off, and his body taken to a ravine some 
thirty or forty yards below, and there burned. 

We stopped digging, and went to the place thus desig- 
nated, where we found coals, ashes, and bones, mingled 
together. A little distance from these we found a shirt, 
and a blanket with large quantities of hair upon it. 
Every thing indicated the burning of a body there. 

We then returned and dug down at the spot indicated 
as the grave of Major Ballou, but found no body there. 
But at the spot designated as the place where Colonel 
Slocum was burned, we found a box, which, upon being 
raised and opened, was found to contain the body of 
Colonel Slocum. The soldiers who had buried the bodies 
of Colonel Slocum and Major Ballou were satisfied that 
the grave had been opened, and that the body taken out, 
beheaded and burned, was that of Major Ballou, because 
it was not in the spot where Colonel Slocum was buried, 



BULL RUN ATROCITIES. 23 

but to the right of it. They at once sai'd that the rebels 
had made a mistake and taken the body of Major Ballou 
for that of Colonel Slocum. The shirt we found near 
the place where the body was burned, I recognised as 
one belonging to Major Ballou, as I had been very inti- 
mate with him. We gathered up the ashes containing 
the portions of his remains that were left and put them 
in a coffin, together with his shirt, and the blanket and 
the hair found upon it, and some hair also that was 
brought to us by a civilian who had expostulated with 
the rebels against this barbarity. 

» After we had done this we went to that portion of the 
field where the battle had first commenced, and began to 
dig there for the remains of Captain Tower. We had 
brought a soldier with us to designate the place where 
he was buried, who had been wounded at the battle, and 
had seen from the window of the house in which he was 
placed the spot where Captain Tower was buried. On 
opening the ditch or trench where he was buried, we 
found it filled with bodies of soldiers all buried with 
their faces downward. After taking up some four or 
five of them, we discovered the remains of Captain Tower, 
mingled with those of the men, and took them and placed 
them in a coffin and brought them home. 

Question. — The position of these bodies was such that 
you were satisfied that they were buried intentionally 
with their faces downward ? 

Answer. — Undoubtedly, beyond all controversy. 

Ques. — Did you consider that that was done as a mark 
ox indignity? 

Ans. — Yes, sir, as an indignity. 

Ques. — What could have been their object in doing 
what they did with what they considered the body of 
Colonel Slocum ? 



24 BULL RUN ATROCITIES. 

Arts. — Sheer Brutality ; nothing else. They did it on 
accouDt of his courage and chivalry in forcing his regi- 
ment fearlessly and bravely upon them, and destroying 
about one-half of that Georgia regiment which was made 
up of their best citizens. 

Ques. — Were these barbarities perpetrated by that 
regiment ? 

Ans. — By that same regiment, as I was told. We saw 
where their own dead were buried, with marble head 
and foot stones, and the names upon them, while ours 
were buried in trenches. 

TESTIMONY OF DANIEL BIXBY, JR. 

I went out in company with Mr. Gr. A. Smart, of 
Cambridge, Massachusetts, who went to look for the 
body of his brother, who fell at Blackburn's Ford, in the 
action of the 18th of July, 1861. We took with us one 
who was there at the time, to point out where he fell. 
We found a grave there, which was opened. The clothes 
there found were identified as those of the brother of 
Mr. Smart. * * * * We found no head in the grave, 
and no bones of any kind — nothing but the clothes, and 
portions of the flesh of the body. We also saw the re- 
mains of three other bodies together that had not been 
buried at all, as we concluded from their appearance. 
The clothes were there, which we examined by cutting 
them open, and found some remains of flesh in them, 
but no bones. A Mrs. Pierce Butler, who lived near 
there, said that she had seen the rebels boiling portions 
of the bodies of our dead in order to obtain their bones 
as relics, the rebels not waiting for them to decay so that 
they could take their bones from them. She said that 
she had seen drum-sticks made of " Yankee shin-bones," 
as the Rebels call them. Mrs. Butler also said she had 



BULL RUN ATROCITIES. 25 

seen a skull that one of the New Orleans artillery had, 
which he said he was going to send home and have 
mounted, and was going to drink a brandy-punch out of 
it the day he was married. 

TESTIMONY OF FREDERICK SCII0LES, OF BROOKLYN, N. Y. 

I proceeded to the battle-field of Bull Bun on Friday, 
April 4th, 1862. We passed across the battle-field, and 
proceeded to the place where I supposed my brother's 
body was buried. * * * * We then proceeded to 
the house of a free negro, named Simon, or Simons, and 
had a long conversation with him. He said he was a 
sutler, or rather kept a little store, and supplied the rebel 
soldiers with eatables. He said the rebel soldiers would 
come into his store with bones in their hands, which they 
showed to him, and said they were bones of Yankees 
which they had dug up. He said it was a common thing 
for the soldiers to exhibit the bones of " the Yankees" 
which they had dug up. 

I went over to the house of a free negro named Hamp- 
ton, as I understood that he assisted in burying some of 
our dead. * * * I spoke to him about the manner 
in which these bodies had been dug up. He said he 
knew it had been done; that the rebels commenced 
digging up the bodies two or three days after they were 
buried, for the purpose at first of obtaining the buttons 
on their uniforms ; afterwards they dug them up, as they 
decayed, to get their bones. 

I went over where some of Mr. Lewis's negroes were, 
and inquired of them. Their information corroborated 
fully the statement of this man Hampton. They also 
stated that a great many of the bodies had been stripped 
naked on the field before they were buried ; others were 
buried with their clothes on. Thev said that numbers 
3 



26 BARBAROUS TREATMENT OF PRISONERS 

of them had been dug up through the winter, and even 
shortly after they had been buried. 

A party of soldiers came along, and showed us part 
of a shin-bone, five or six inches long, which had the 
end sawed off. The}' said they had found it, among 
many other pieces, in one of the cabins the rebels had 
deserted. From the appearance of it, pieces had been 
sawed off to make finger-rings. As soon as the negroes 
noticed this, they said that the rebels had had rings made 
of the bones of our dead, and that they had them for 
sale in their camps. The soldiers said that there were 
lots of these bones scattered through the rebel huts 
sawed into rings.* 



BARBAROUS TREATMENT OF TWENTY-TWO PRI- 
SONERS NEAR CHATTANOOGA. 

OFFICIAL REPORT OF JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL. 

Judge Advocate General's Office, 
March 27th, 1863. 

Sir : I have the honor to transmit for your considers 
tion, the accompanying depositions of Corporal William 
Pittinger, Co. Gr, Second Regiment, Ohio Volunteers 
private Jacob Parrott, Co. B, Thirty -third Regiment 
Ohio Volunteers ; private Robert BufFum, Co. H, Twenty 
first Regiment, Ohio Volunteers ; Corporal William Red 
dick, Co. B, Thirty-third Ohio Volunteers ; private Wil 
liam Bessinger, Co. G, Twenty-first Ohio Volunteers 
taken at this office on the 25th instant, in compliance 
with your written instructions, from which the following 
facts will appear. These non-commissioned officers and 

* See Report of the Committee on the conduct of the war. 



NEAR CHATTANOOGA. 27 

privates belonged to an expedition set on foot in April, 
1862, at the suggestion of Mr. T. J. Adams, a citizen of 
Kentucky, who led it, and under the authority and 
direction of General 0. M. Mitchell, the object of which 
was to destroy the communications of the Georgia State 
Railroad between Atlanta and Chattanooga. 

The mode of operation proposed, was to reach a point 
on the road where they could seize a locomotive and a 
train of cars, and then dash back in the direction of 
Chattanooga, cutting the telegraph wires, and burning 
the bridges behind them as they advanced, until they 
reached their own lines. The expedition consisted of 
twenty-four men, who, with the exception of its leader, 
Mr. Adams, and another citizen of Kentucky who acted 
on the occasion as the substitute of a soldier, had been 
selected from the different companies for their known 
courage and discretion. They were informed that the 
movement was to be a secret one, and that they doubt- 
less comprehended something of its perils; but Mr. 
Adams and Mr. Reddick alone seemed to have known 
anything of its precise direction or object. They, how- 
ever, voluntarily engaged in it, and made their way in 
parties of twos and threes, in citizen's dress, and carrying 
only their side-arms, to Chattanooga, the point of ren- 
dezvous agreed upon, where twenty-two out of the 
twenty-four arrived safely. There they took passage, 
without attracting observation, for Marietta, which they 
reached at twelve o'clock on the night of the 11th of 
April. The following morning they took the cars back 
again toward Chattanooga, and at a place called Big 
Shanty, while the engineer and passengers were break- 
fasting, they detached the locomotive and three box-cars 
from the train, and started off at full speed for Chatta- 
nooga. They were now upon the field of the perilous 



28 BARBAROUS TREATMENT OF PRISONERS 

operations proposed by the expedition, but suddenly 
encountered unforeseen obstacles. According to the 
schedule of the road, of which Mr. Adams had possessed 
himself, they should have met but a single train on that 
day, whereas they met three, two of them being engaged 
on extraordinary service. About an hour was lost in 
waiting to allow these trains to pass, which enabled their 
pursuers to press closely upon them. They removed 
rails, threw out obstructions on the road, and cut the 
wires from time to time, and attained, when in motion, 
a speed of sixty miles an hour ; but the time lost could 
not be regained. After having run about one hundred 
miles, they found their supply of wood, water, and oil 
exhausted, while the rebel locomotive, which had been 
chasing them, was in sight. Under these circumstances, 
they had no alternative but to abandon their cars and fly 
to the woods, which they did under the orders of Mr. 
Adams, each one endeavoring to save himself as best he 
might. 

The expedition thus failed, from causes which neither 
reflected upon the genius by which it was planned, nor 
upon the intrepidity and discretion of those engaged in 
conducting it. 

But for the accident of meeting the extra trains, which 
could not have been anticipated, the movement would 
have been a complete success, and the whole aspect of 
the war in the South and South-west would have been 
at once changed. 

The expedition itself, in the daring of its conception, 
had the wildness of a romance, while in the gigantic and 
overwhelming results which it sought, and was likely to 
accomplish, it was absolutely sublime. The estimate of its 
character entertained in the South, will be found fully 
expressed in an editorial from the u Southern Confede- 



NEAR CHATTANOOGA. 29 

racy," a prominent rebel journal, under date of the 15th 
of April, and which is appended to, and adopted as, a 
part of Mr. Pettinger's deposition. The editor says: 
"The mind and heart sink back, appalled at the bare 
contemplation of the awful consequences which would 
have followed the success of this one act. We doubt if 
the victory of Manassas or Corinth were worth as much 
to us as the frustration of this grand coup d'etat" It 
is not by any means certain that the annihilation of 
Beauregard's whole army at Corinth would be so fatal 
a blow to us as would have been the burning of these 
bridges at that time by these men." 

So soon as those men, comprising the expedition, had 
left the cars and dispersed themselves in the woods, the 
population of the country around turned out in their 
pursuit, employing for their purpose the dogs which are 
trained to hunt down the fugitive slaves of the South. 
The whole twenty-two were captured. Among them was 
Private Jacob Parrott, of Co. K, Thirty-third Regiment 
Ohio Volunteers. When arrested he was, without any 
trial, taken possession of by a military officer and four 
soldiers, who stripped him, bent him over a stone, and, 
while two pistols were held over his head, a lieutenant 
in rebel uniform inflicted, with a rawhide, upward of a 
hundred lashes on his bare back. This was done in the 
presence of an infuriated crowd, who clamored for his 
blood, and actually brought a rope with which to hang 
him. The object of this prolonged scourging was to 
force this young man to confess to them the object of the 
expedition, and the names of his comrades, especially 
that of the engineer who ran the train. Their purpose 
was, no doubt, not only to take the life of the latter, if 
identified, but to do so with every circumstance of hu- 
miliation and torture which they could devise. Three 
3* 



30 BARBAROUS TREATMENT OF PRISONERS 

times, in the progress of this horrible flogging, it was 
suspended, and Mr. Parrott was asked if he would not 
confess ; but steadily and firmly to the last he refused all 
disclosure, and it was not till his tormentors were weary 
of their brutal work, that the task of subduing their 
victim was abandoned as hopeless. This youth is an 
orphan, without father or mother, and without any of 
the advantages of education. Soon after the Eebellion 
broke out, though but eighteen years of age, he left his 
trade, and threw himself into the ranks of our armies as 
a volunteer, and now, though still suffering from the out- 
rages committed on his person in the South, he is on his 
way to rejoin his regiment, seeming to love his country 
only the more for all that he had endured in its defence. 
His subdued and modest manner, while narrating the 
part he had borne in this expedition, showed him to be 
wholly unconscious of having done anything more than 
perform his simple duty as a soldier. Such Spartan for- 
titude, and such fidelity to the trusts of friendship, deserve 
an enduring record in the archives of the Government, 
and will find one, I am sure, in the hearts of a loyal 
people. 

The twenty-two captives, when secured, were thrust 
into the negro jail of Chattanooga. They occupied a 
single room, half under ground, and but thirteen feet 
square, so that there was not space enough for all of them 
to lie down together, and part of them were in conse- 
quence obliged to sleep sitting and leaning against the 
walls. The only entrance was through a trap-door, in 
the ceiling, that was raised twice a day to let down their 
scanty meals, which were lowered in a bucket. They 
had no other light or ventilation than that which came 
through two small grated windows. They were covered 
with ^warming vermin ; and the heat was so oppressive 



NEAR CHATTANOOGA. 31 

that they were often obliged to strip themselves entirely 
of their clothes to bear it. Add to this, they were all 
handcuffed, and with trace-chains, secured by padlocks 
around their necks, were fastened to each other in com- 
panies of twos and threes. Their food, which was doled 
. out to them twice a day, consisted of a little flour, wet 
with water, and baked in the form of bread, and spoiled 
pickled beef. They had no opportunity of procuring 
any supplies from the outside, nor had they any means 
of doing so, their pockets having been rifled of their 
last cent by the Confederate authorities, prominent 
among whom was an officer wearing the rebel uniform 
of a major. No part of the money, thus basely taken, 
was ever returned. 

During their imprisonment at Chattanooga, their leader, 
Mr. Adams, was tried and condemned as a spy, and was 
subsequently executed at Atlanta on the 7th of June. 
They were strong, and in perfect health when they en- 
tered this negro jail, but at the end of something more 
than three weeks, when they were required to leave it, 
they were so exhausted, from the treatment to which 
they had been subjected, as scarcely to be able to walk ; 
and several staggered from weakness as they passed 
through the street to the cars. 

Finally, twelve of the number, including the five who 
have deposed, and Mr. Mason, of Company K, Twenty - 
first Ohio Volunteers, who was prevented from illness 
giving his evidence, were transferred to the prison of 
Knoxville, Tennessee. On arriving there, seven of them 
were arraigned before a court-martial, charged with 
being spies. Their trial, of course, was summary. They 
were permitted to be present, but not to hear either the 
argument of their own counsel, or that of the judge ad- 
vocate. Their counsel, however, afterwards visited the 



32 BARBAROUS TREATMENT OF PRISONERS 

prison, and read to them the written defence, which he 
made before the court in their behalf. The substance of 
that paper is thus stated by one of the witnesses, Cor- 
poral Pittinger. He, the counsel, contended, being 
dressed in citizens' clothes, was nothing more than what 
the Confederate Government itself had authorized, and 
only what all the guerrillas in the service of the Confed- 
eracy did, on all occasions, when it would be of advan- 
tage *to them to do so; and he recited the instance of 
General Morgan having dressed his men in the uniform 
of our soldiers, and passed them off as being from the 
Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry Kegiment, and by that 
means succeeded in reaching a railroad and destroying 
it. This instance was mentioned to show that our being 
in citizens' clothes did not take from us the protection 
awarded to prisoners of war. The plea went on further 
to state that we had told the object of our expedition ; 
that it was purely a military one for the destruction of 
communications, and as such lawful according to the 
rules of Avar. This just and unanswerable presentation 
of the case appears to have produced its appropriate im- 
pression. Several members of the court-martial after- 
wards called on the prisoners, and assured them that 
from the evidence against them they could not be con- 
demned as spies; that they had come for a certain known 
object, and not having lingered about, or visited any of 
their camps, obtaining or seeking information, they 
could not be convicted. Soon thereafter all the prisoners 
were removed to Atlanta, Georgia, and they left Knox- 
ville under a belief that their comrades who had been 
tried either had been or would be acquitted. In the 
mean time, however, the views entertained and expressed 
to them by the members of the court were overcome, it 
may be safely assumed, under the prompting of the re- 



NEAR CHATTANOOGA. 33' 

morseless despotism at Eichmond. On tlie 18th of June, 
after their arrival at Atlanta, where they joined their 
comrades, from whom they had been separated at Chatta- 
nooga, their prison- door was opened, and the death sen- 
tence of the seven, who had been tried at Knoxville, 
was read to them. No time for preparation was allowed 
them. They were told "to bid their friends farewell, 
and to be quick about it." They were at once tied and 
carried out to execution. Among the seven was Private 
Samuel Eobinson, Company G, Thirty-third Ohio Vol- 
unteers, who was too ill to walk. He was however pin- 
ioned, like the rest, and in this condition was dragged 
from the floor on which he was lying, to the scaffold. In 
an hour or more the cavalry escort, which had accompa- 
nied them, were seen returning with the cart, but the 
cart was empty. The tragedy had been consummated. 

On that evening and the following morning, the pri- 
soners learned from the Provost Marshal and guard that 
their comrades had died, as all true soldiers of the Ee- 
public should die in the presence of its enemies. Among 
the revolting incidents which they mentioned, in con- 
nection with this cowardly butchery, was the fall of two 
victims from the breaking of the ropes, after they had 
been some time suspended. On their being restored to 
consciousness, they begged for an hour in which to pray 
and prepare for death ; but this was refused them. The 
ropes were readjusted, and the execution at once pro- 
ceeded. 

Among those who thus perished was Private Alfred 
Wilson, Company C, Twenty-First Ohio Volunteers. He 
was a mechanic from Cincinnati, who, in the exercise of 
his trade, had travelled much through the States, north 
and south, and who had a greatness of soul which sym- 
pathized with our struggle for national life, and was in 



34 BARBAROUS TREATMENT OF PRISONERS 

that dark hour filled with joyous convictions of our final 
triumph. Though surrounded by a scowling crowd im- 
patient for his sacrifice, he did not hesitate, while stand- 
ing under the gallows, to make them a brief address. 
He told them that, though they were all wrong, he had 
no hostile feelings toward the Southern people, believing 
that not they, but their leaders, were responsible for the 
rebellion ; that he was no spy, as charged, but a soldier 
regularly detailed for military duty ; that he did not re- 
gret to die for his country, but only regretted the manner 
of his death. And he added, for their admonition, that 
they would yet see the time when the old Union would 
be restored, and when its flag would wave over them 
again. And with these words the brave man died. He, 
like his comrades, calmly met the ignominious doom of a 
felon, but happily ignominious for him and for them only 
so far as the martyrdom of the patriot and the hero can 
be degenerated by the hands of ruffians and traitors. 

The remaining prisoners, now reduced to fourteen, 
were kept closely confined, under a special guard, in the 
jail at Atlanta, until October, when, overhearing a con- 
versation between the jailor and another officer, they 
learned and were satisfied that it was the purpose of the 
authorities to hang them, as they had done their com- 
panions. This led them to form a plan for their escape, 
which they carried into execution on the evening of the 
next day, by seizing the jailor when he opened the door 
to carry away the bucket in which their supper had been 
brought. This was followed by the seizure of the seven 
guards on duty — and, before the alarm was given, eight 
of the fugitives were beyond the reach of pursuit. It 
has been since ascertained that six of these succeeded in 
reaching our lines. Of the fate of the other two nothing 
is known. The remaining six of the fourteen, consisting 



NEAR CHATTANOOGA". 35 

of five witnesses who have deposed and Mr. Mason, w ire 
recaptured and confined in the barracks until December 
when they were removed to Richmond. 

There they were shut up in a room in Castle Thunder, 
where they shivered through the winter, without fire 
thinly clad, and with but two small blankets, which they 
had saved with their clothes, to cover the whole party. 
So they remained until a few days since, when they were 
exchanged. And thus, at the end of eleven months, 
terminated their pitiless persecutions in the prisons of 
the South, — persecutions begun and continued amid in- 
dignities and sufferings on their part, and atrocities on 
the part of their traitorous foes, which illustrate far more 
faithfully than any human language could express it, the 
demoniac spirit of a revolt every throb of whose life is 
a crime against the very race to which we belong. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

J. Holt, 
Judge Advocate General, U. S. A. 

To Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War. 



TREATMENT OF UNION PRISONERS AT RICHMOND. 

Below is an official statement, from a Committee of 
Surgeons liberated from Libby Prison, to the President 
of the United States. It was prepared on their way 
from Richmond to Fort Monroe, and presented to the 
President on their arrival at Washington. 

Steamer Adelade, Chesapeake Bat, 
November 26th, 1863. 

At a meeting of the Surgeons of the United States 
Army and Navy, lately confined in prison in Richmond, 



36 TREATMENT OF UNION PRISONERS 

Virginia, of which S. P. Ashman, Surgeon Thirty-ninth 
Ohio Volunteers, was chosen Chairman, and I.«McCurdy, 
Surgeon Eleventh Ohio Volunteers, Secretary,^ was 

Resolved, That a committee of seven be appointed to 
prepare a report on the condition and treatment of the 
Federal prisoners in Eichmond, Virginia ; also its prisons, 
quality and quantity of the rations, and treatment of our 
sick and wounded. 

The following committee was appointed: — Daniel 
Meeker, Surgeon Seventeenth Ohio Volunteers; O. Q. 
Herrick, Surgeon Thirty-fourth Illinois Volunteers ; W. 
M. Houston, Surgeon One Hundred and Twenty-second 
Ohio Volunteers; H. J. Herrick, Surgeon Seventeenth 
Ohio Volunteers; J. Markum Eice, Surgeon Twenty- 
fourth Massachusetts Volunteers ; John T. Luck, Assist- 
ant Surgeon United States Navy, and Augustine A. 
Mann, Assistant Surgeon First Ehode Island Cavalry. 

The following report was presented by the president 
of the committee, which was read, received, and adopted 
unanimously; after which the committee received the 
thanks of the meeting, and were then discharged. 

The Committee appointed by the United States Army 
and Navy Surgeons, recently imprisoned in Eichmond, 
Virginia, to report the past and present condition and 
treatment of Union prisoners, now held at that place, 
submit the following facts, derived from personal obser- 
vation, and the statements of fellow- prisoners, in whose 
veracity they have implicit confidence. The officers, 
about one thousand in all, and representing nearly all 
grades of both branches of the service, are confined in 
seven rooms of Libby Prison, a building formerly used 
as a warehouse. Each room is forty-three feet wide, and 
one hundred and two feet long, affording each prisoner 
about two hundred and seventy-six cubic feet of air. 



AT KICHMOND. & 

The rooms have unplastered walls, partitions, and ceil- 
ings, but few of the windows are glazed, being open 
either to the full sweep of cold winds, or closed with 
boards or canvas, rendering the rooms dark and cheer- 
less. 

One of the rooms is used exclusively as a kitchen and 
dining-room, while portions of others are necessarily 
devoted to the same purpose, and all of them are scantily 
furnished, and medium-sized cook-stoves supplied the 
prison. The officers have to do their own cooking, and 
the supply of wood for this purpose is often insufficient, 
and occasionally, for half a day, none at all is sent in. A 
privy and sink render foul and disgusting one end of 
each room, polluting, at times, the air of the entire apart- 
ment. None are permitted to leave this building of 
accumulated and accumulating horrors, till borne to the 
hospital, or happily exchanged. 

The enlisted men are confined in various places. At 
the time the surgeons left Kichmond, there were about 
six thousand three hundred soldiers held on Belle Island, 
on James Kiver, near the city, and about four thousand 
soldiers, and fifty sailors and marines, in buildings simi- 
lar to, and in the immediate vicinity of, Libby. 

In the buildings, the condition of the men is about 
the same as that of the officers in Libby, only they are 
much more crowded. The condition of those on the 
Island is much worse. An insufficient number of tents 
is furnished to protect them from the cold and rain, and 
no blankets or any other bedding have been given them 
by the rebels. 

Only one surgeon is assigned to Belle Island, and he 

makes but one visit a day, during which he does not 

enter the enclosure where the men are kept, to see those 

too sick to walk, but attends to those only who are able 

4 



38 TREATMENT OF UNION PRISONERS 

to come to him. When the neglected men are sent to 
the hospital, it is often too late. 

None of the privates in the prisons abont " Libby" are 
furnished with bedding of any kind. A member of this 
committee received a letter from a man belonging to the 
same command, and confined in the building opposite 
Libby, worded thus : " Doctor, we beg of you to try and 
get us something, either clothes or blankets, to keep us 
warm. "We have no fire in the building to warm us ; 
have nothing either to lie on or cover us, and suffer 
greatly from cold." 

In Libby, stoves for heating purposes have recently 
been put up in some of the rooms, but no fuel has yet 
been given to render them useful. 

At one time the rations issued consisted of about three- 
fourths of a pound of wheat bread, one-fourth of a pound 
of fresh beef, and two ounces of beans, and a small quan- 
tity of vinegar and salt for each prisoner per day. Sub- 
sequently, the same quantity of corn bread, made of 
unsifted meal, and rice instead of beans, was issued; or, in 
lieu of half rice, two or three sweet potatoes, and quite 
often, more particularly during the past two weeks, 
absolutely nothing, except three-fourths of a pound of 
corn bread, has been issued to each prisoner to satisfy 
the gnawings of hunger for twenty-four hours. On the 
10th of this month, the men on Belle Island did not get 
a morsel of anything to eat until four o'clock p. m. 

The Committee unanimously agree that the rations 
furnished our prisoners by rebel authorities at Eichmond 
are not sufficient to prevent the prisoners from suffering 
from hunger, and thus becoming debilitated and very 
susceptible to disease. Some of the committee have seen 
men brought from Belle Island to the prisoners' hospital 
literally starving to death ; and a United States officer of 



AT RICHMOND. 39 

high rank and undoubted veracity, then and now a pri- 
soner in Libby, told a member of the committee, that, 
while on a visit to Belle Island recently, whither he went 
by permission of the rebels, the prisoners there followed 
him in crowds as he walked around the enclosure, and 
cried to him, with eager voices : " We are hungry ! send 
us bread ! send us bread !" Were it not for supplies re- 
ceived from home, none of them confined in Libby and 
other prisons would escape the pangs of hunger. 

On arriving at the prison, the officers are searched, 
and, in addition to articles contraband of war, their money 
and other valuables are taken from them. A few got all, 
and some the greater portion, but others none of their 
money returned, while all other articles are retained. All 
money arriving in letters and express packages for the 
prisoners, from whatever source, is taken and deposited 
with the rebel Quartermaster of Eichmond, and the 
owner is permitted to draw it in limited amounts, in 
rebel paper, though they allow seven dollars in Confede- 
rate currency for one dollar in United States money. 
Some of the signers, released yesterday, on applying for 
the money taken from them in various ways, but always 
with the promise that if released with any remainder on 
deposit it would be returned in kind, were civilly told 
that the aforesaid Quartermaster had exchanged all their 
money, and they must take "Confederate" or wait. 

The treatment received by the privates is of the great- 
est severity. For looking out of a window, three nights 
since, one was shot and instantly killed. Those having 
trades, and also some who have none, are taken out into 
the city and compelled to work, guarded, and restrained 
from all liberty, by sentries. It was no uncommon sight 
to see squads of our men coming back to their prison- 
house at night carrying their implements of labor, be- 



40 TREATMENT OF UNION PRISONERS 

spotted with whitewash, or showing other signs of having 
been at work. About thirty of our men are now em- 
ployed in Kichmond making shoes, supposed to be for 
the rebel army. 

Some of the officers have been compelled to scrub the 
floors, clean the water-closets of the prison, and perform 
other menial services. All are, and have been at all 
times since their imprisonment in Libby, subjected to 
insults and brutal treatment on the part of prison sub- 
ordinates ; and the captain and inspector of the prison, 
when applied to, not only does not rebuke these sub- 
ordinates, but encourages them to further offensive 
conduct. 

Upon the most trivial charges, officers have been con- 
fined from twenty -four hours to several days in damp 
dungeons under the jail, and there fed on only bread and 
water. An officer, for doing that which certainly did 
not merit the term offence, was put in one of these dun- 
geon-cells, though at the same time convalescent from 
typhoid fever and too weak to do anything. Not more 
than two hundred blankets have been given to the pri- 
soners in Libby by the rebels. Were it not for those 
received from home, and furnished by the Sanitary Com- 
mission, all would suffer very much. Twice in the 
past week, the floors of the prison-house have been 
scrubbed at sundown, and during the cold night following, 
with no fire to drive off the moisture, officers have been 
compelled to lie on these disease-engendering floors, or 
walk the floor until the morning brought relief by bring- 
ing light. 

On two other occasions the floors were scrubbed nearly 
half an hour before the officers were ready to rise from 
their beds ; and thus, in various ways, did the authorities 



AT RICHMOND. 41 

seek to make our condition not only uncomfortable, but 
dangerous. 

After their arrival at the hospital, the sick are not 
unkindly treated, and the rations given them are a shad< 
better than those issued to them while in the prisons 
But so enfeebled have they become by the deprivation 
of food, and so stricken by exposure previous to theii 
admission, that the mortality is great. 

The number of deaths among the prisoners at Rich- 
mond and on Belle Island, together, have reached the 
startling number of fifty in a day. All the prison hospi- 
tals are insufficiently supplied with medicines for the 
proper treatment of the sick. 

Finally, the members of this Committee individually 
asseverate, that no prison or penitentiary has ever been 
seen by them in a northern State which did not surpass 
in cheerfulness, in healthiness, and abundance of rations 
issued in them, either of the military prisons of Eich 
mond, Virginia. 

Respectfully, 
Daniel Meeker, Surgeon U. S. Volunteers. 
O. Q. Herrick, Surgeon 84th Illinois Infantry. 
William M. Houston, Surgeon 122d Ohio V. I. 
II. J. Herrick, Surgeon 17th Ohio Vol. Infantry. 
J. Marcum Eice, 24th Massachusetts Volunteers. 
John T. Luck, Assistant Surgeon U. S. Navy. 
Augustine A. Mann, Surgeon 1st E. I. Cavalry. 

G. P. Ashman, 
Surgeon 93d 0. V. I., Chairman. 
J. McCurdy, 
Surgeon 11th 0. V. I., Secretary. 

Eev. George H. Hammer, Chaplain of the Twelfth 
Pennsylvania Cavalry, w r ho was incarcerated in Libby 
4* 



42 TREATMENT OF UNION PRISONERS 

Prison, in reference to the treatment of our prisoners, 
says : — 

Many sunk under it, and falling away into living 
skeletons were passed over to the hospital, in the end of 
the building, where they lived or died, as circumstances 
might decide. How often have I seen this ? So often 
that it had long ceased to call forth special attention. 
Did men fall down exhausted upon, the floor, those 
stronger picked them up, and strove to have them re- 
moved to the hospital. Did they die, their bodies were 
carelessly thrown to one side until convenience suited 
them to hurry them under ground. During this time 
the heat was intense, and the suffering from this cause 
alone very great. 

Speaking of their rations, he said : The bread was very 
unpalatable and unwholesome ; the beef oftentimes 
tainted, and sometimes evidently diseased, as we could 
see where tumors had been extracted. If, in lieu of rice, 
we obtained beans or peas, we received no small quan- 
tity of animated life in the form of worms, fat and 
plump. If by any means we offended his supreme high- 
ness (the commandant of the prison), our supply of water 
was cut off for half a day and night, and this during the 
suffocating weather of summer, or, to vary the punish- 
ment and give zest to the regimen, we would be left 
without wood for three-fourths of a day wherewith to 
cook our food. I have seen a captain of cavalry, for the 
simple offence of missing the spittoon, and spitting on 
the floor, thrown into a dark, damp dungeon for two days 
and nights, on bread and water, causing serious inflam- 
mation. Lieutenant Welch, of the Eighty-seventh Penn- 
sylvania Infantry, lay for six weeks in a dungeon under 
the building, because, as an orderly sergeant acting under 
appointment as a lieutenant, although not mustered in, 



AT RICHMOND. 43 

he had rightly classed himself with the enlisted men. 
When brought up among the other officers, his clothes 
and shoes, &c, were covered with green mould. Lieu- 
tenant Dutton, of the Sixty- seventh Pennsylvania In- 
fantry, has been doomed to a dungeon until the close of 
the war, and is now suffering for a similar offence, with 
the additional fact that he assumed the name of another. 
Colonel Powell, of the Twelfth Virginia Union Cavalry, 
wounded severely in the back from a window in Wythe- 
ville, and left behind, was carried to Richmond, and 
placed in the hospital. A few days after, one of the 
Richmond papers railed out against him in a most brutal 
manner, and suggested he be executed. The prison in- 
spector entered the hospital, and ordered him to get up 
off his bed and follow him. He was placed in one of the 
dungeons spoken of, and, upon asking him what were the 
charges against him, he was answered, God d — n you, 
you will soon find out. Here, with a ball in his back, 
he remained five weeks and four days, part of the time 
without a blanket, rarely receiving any medical care, and 
sometimes his rations withheld. While he was confined 
there, the entry-way was frequently blocked up with dead 
bodies remaining there for several days, and this during 
the heat of summer. This entry performed another im- 
portant part, being the place where men and women were 
brought in to receive their lawful allowance of lashes at 
the hands of the prison inspectors. 

I have so far only given an outline of the treatment 
and condition of the officers, which in comparison was a 
favoured one. I cannot describe the condition of the 
enlisted men. Hunger, bad treatment, and exposure 
have done their work too surely for many brave souls 
who have gone to testify at the bar of God to the bar- 
barities practised upon them. Many of them, also, were 



44 UNION PRISONERS AT RICHMOND. 

shot by the guard upon the most frivolous pretences. I 
have seen our men marched through the city of Kich- 
mond barefooted, bareheaded, without coats, and with 
.only the remnants of other articles of clothing. I have 
seen them brought from this island in the evening, to 
ship them in the morning for City Point, so weak from 
hunger and disease that they were unable to stand upon 
tneir feet. One of the many nights spent in Libby is 
engraven upon my mind. A free negro of Philadelphia, 
nearly white, captured while serving in our navy, re- 
ceived three hundred and twenty lashes. His loud cries 
and pleadings penetrated every part of the building, as 
blow followed blow. He was then wrapped in a blanket, 
saturated with salt and water, and cast into one of the 
dungeons for a month or so. Such scenes and cries were 
frequent. 

Major Houstain and Lieutenant Yon Weltrien, who 
escaped from Kichmond in November, 1863, stated, in a 
conversation at Fort Monroe, that the cries of the pri- 
soners for food were piteous, and the ravings of the men, 
rendered insane in many instances by the pangs of hun- 
ger, sounded through the Libby building night and day. 
One man in the room with Major Houstain was so pros- 
trated by want of food, that when a piece of bread was 
thrown to him by his brutal jailor, he had not the strength 
to eat it, and died with the scrap in his hand, clutching 
in death the very staff of life. Kev. James Harvey, 
Chaplain of the Hundred-and- Tenth Ohio Volunteers, who 
was taken prisoner at Winchester, Va., says: After spend- 
ing three days in connection with our hospitals in gath- 
ering up our wounded, I found in the dead-room of one 
of our hospitals files of men who were lying in a state 
of decomposition. The nurses told me that they could 
not be taken out, as the stench was such that the room 
could not be entered. 




Private GEORGE H. WIBLE, 
Company F, 9th Maryland Volunteers, Admitted from Flag-of-truee 
>at, April IStb, 1864.— West's Building Hospital, Baltimore. Mi. 3o 



CONDITION OF RELEASED PRISONERS. 45 



WRETCHED CONDITION OF UNION PRISONERS, 
RELEASED FROM RICHMOND. 

The following is a simple statement of facts from a 
gentleman of undoubted veracity : — 

The flag-of-truce boat New York arrived at the Naval 
School wharf, Annapolis, Maryland, this morning, Octo- 
ber 30th, 1863, from City Point, with one hundred and 
eighty-one paroled men. Eight of the men died on the 
boat, on its way hither. They had literally been starved 
to death. Never, in the whole course of my life, have I 
witnessed such a scene as these men presented. They 
were living skeletons ; every man of them had to be sent 
to the hospitals, and the surgeon's opinion of them is, 
that more than one-third of them must die. They are 
beyond the reach of medicine. 

I questioned several of them, and all stated that their 
condition has been brought on by the treatment which 
they have received at the hands of the rebels. They 
have been kept without food, and exposed, a large por- 
tion of the time, without shelter of any kind. 

To look at the attenuated and squalid condition of 
these poor men, and listen to their tales of woe and 
agony, as to how they have been treated, one would not 
suppose they had fallen into the hands of Southern 
Chivalry ! but rather into the hands of savage barbarians, 
destitute of all humanity or feeling. 

The following is a letter addressed to the editor of the 
Daily Chronicle, of AYashington, by Rev. E. W. II utter, 
Pastor of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, New Street, 
Philadelphia, in regard to the prisoners referred to in the 
above. 



46 CONDITION OF RELEASED PRISONERS. 

Annapolis, Maryland, 
December 1st, 1863. 

Dear Sir: Although the statements respecting the 
extreme wretchedness of the Union prisoners returned 
from Eichmond, seemed to me to be so well authenti- 
cated as to preclude all possibility of doubt or mistake, 
I yet resolved to satisfy myself of their truthfulness, or 
otherwise, by actual personal observation. To this step 
I was prompted by no desire to gratify a mere idle 
curiosity, but to render to those poor men, if possible, all 
the good that might be in my power. " He that knoweth 
to do good," says St. James, "and doeth it not, to him it 
is sin." Nor are we, in our ministrations of mercy, to 
wait until occasions for their exercise present themselves 
at our doors, but, in imitation of our blessed Eedeemer, 
we are to seek them out. 

Actuated by motives such as these, I paid a visit to 
the Government Hospitals at Annapolis, and proceed to 
furnish you with a statement of the condition of the 
prisoners recently returned from Eichmond. In my 
visit there, I was most kindly assisted by Eev. H. C. 
Henries, the laborious and self-denying chaplain in 
charge of that place. Be assured, it is not possible to 
exaggerate the scenes there presented; they defy the 
descriptive powers of language. The pictorial repre- 
sentation in Harper's Weekly, so far from being an 
exaggeration, affords but a very inadequate view of 
these scenes of wretchedness. In my pastoral experience, 
I have stood at the bed-side of many dying sufferers — 
often have I &een the human frame painfully reduced by 
the ravages of consumption — but never before have my 
sensibilities been so shocked as at Annapolis. To look 
upon men who, a short time since, were robust and stal- 
wart men, not brutes — immortal men, created by a com- 



CONDITION OF RELEASED PRISONERS. 47 

mon Father, and redeemed by a common Lord — to see 
such reduced to wasted and bony skeletons, by withhold' 
ing from them the " daily bread," for the production of 
which the Lord of heaven and earth sends his genial 
sunshine and his refreshing rains — Oh! this was a 
scene which, in this land of plenty, enriched by the 
superabundant goodness of God, I never expected to 
witness. Such scenes I did witness only to-day, in the 
hospitals at this place — men, from emaciated bodies, 
breathing out their spirits into the hands of God, whose 
death has been literally wrought by the murderous pro- 
cess of starvation. An unspeakable satisfaction to me 
was it, to be permitted, in company with the beloved 
Chaplain, to point a number of such dying starvelings to 
"the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the 
world." In every instance, when it was in the power of 
these poor men to speak, the last lingering accents or 
their lips consisted of petitions to Christ for the rerni? 
sion of their sins, and in the supplication of blessings 
from the Almighty Ruler of the world on their beloved 
country. Yery few of these men, after their arrival here, 
have been able to articulate; they could only signify 
their wishes by looks and signs. From the few who 
were able to speak, it is a noteworthy fact, that I did not 
hear a solitary murmur of complaint that they had en- 
listed in the service of their country, or that, by the 
mysteriousness of Providence, they had been doomed, for 
such a cause, to die even so ghastly and horrible a death. 
Like the Apostles of our Lord, these heroic men seem 
content, in the prosecution of their noble work, to endure 
even worse things than a baptism of blood and a martyr- 
dom of fire — even a horror not confronted by the Apos- 
tles themselves, viz., Starvation. 

In my intercourse with these famishing victims of 



48 CONDITION OF RELEASED PRISONERS. 

Southern barbarity, I was exceedingly anxious to learn 
their own impressions as to the causes that underlie the 
action of the Rebel Government toward themselves, — 
whether the treatment they had received at Richmond 
was voluntary or compulsory. If the former, it would, 
of course, be the fault of their enemies ; if the latter, 
their misfortune. With one accord, the answer was, that 
their dreadful condition was mostly voluntary, the result 
of a system of wanton and deliberate cruelty. The Rich- 
mond conspirators, our prisoners admit, are in straits, and 
have it not in their power to bestow upon them even a 
tolerable degree of care and attention ; but their con- 
dition is not so desperate, that they might not, if they 
wished, afford them at least as much daily food as would 
serve to sustain life. Their own destitution the rebels 
seize upon, not as a real and truthful justification of 
their inhumanity, but as a pretext ; and this they do, not 
in sorrow, but in the intense maliciousness of diabolism 
itself. They gloat over it, that, for the display of their 
fiendish cruelty, they have an argument plausible enough 
to quit themselves in their own wicked foregone con- 
clusions, however transparent its flimsiness to all the 
world beside. I stood at the bedside of a dying youth, 
from Tennessee ; I kneeled at his bedside in prayer ; he 
claimed to have made his peace with God, through faith 
in Jesus Christ. In the very article and hour of death, 
when all purposes are honest, and all secrets are revealed, 
I asked him : Do you think, my young brother, that the 
men in Richmond have starved you to death from choice, 
or were they driven to it from necessity ? His answer 
was, " God forgive them, they might have done better if 
they wished." The utterance of another was, " I know 
they could have given us more food than they did, from 
the amount they gave to the guards ; but they wished us 



CONDITION OF RELEASED PRISONERS. 49 

to starve." One of their leading men said to me, " Libby 
Prison and Belle Island are our best generals — they are 
killing off more men than Bragg and Lee!" 

One other fact I learned most discreditable to the 
rebel authorities. Bell Island is a contracted patch of 
ground, consisting of only three or four acres, on which 
thousands of prisoners are crowded, with scarcely a foot 
of intervening space. The water they are compelled to 
drink is in close proximity to the sinks, and necessarily 
polluted and poisoned. This the prisoners are compelled 
to drink, in very sight of clear and wholesome water, 
which is running in perennial streams before their eyes. 
Their hardships are thus purposely aggravated, and 
under them, an iron constitution melts away as frost 
before a summer's sun. This, indeed, is the very refine- 
ment of cruelty. 

From another of the dying men, I learned the aston- 
ishing fact, that since the incarceration of our poor pri- 
soners at Eichmond, in no solitary instance has a woman 
appeared in their midst to minister even to our wounded 
and dying. From the "gentler sex," ordinarily so noted 
for the finer and better sensibilities of human nature, not 
one of our prisoners has received as much as a " cup of 
cold water" — nothing but insults and reproaches. How 
strikingly this contrasts with the kindness lavished by 
the ladies of the North on the suffering rebels whom the 
" accidents" of war have thrown into our hands ! After 
the battle of Gettysburg, numbers of ladies from Phila- 
delphia and elsewhere hastened to the scene, and dis 
tributed stores, to the amount of thousands, indiscrimi- 
nately — between the parties they made no distinction. 
Had they been monsters in human shape, they might 
then have suffered thousands of rebels to die of neglect ; 
but it sufficed for them to know, that although engaged 
5 



50 CONDITION OF RELEASED PRISONERS. 

in a gigantic iniquity — such as has not been paralleled 
in the annals of crime since the crucifixion of Jesus on 
Calvary — these misguided men were nevertheless of a 
race of our universal manhood, redeemed by the blood 
of Christ. This consideration alone sufficed to secure 
them a passport to the enlarged sympathies and the most 
generous and substantial aid of our Christian ladies. 
This, as thousands can and do attest, was spontaneously 
rendered, ''without respect of persons," in no pharisaical 
spirit, but in that of unsophisticated truth and soberness. 
May we, who espouse the cause of the Union, thank God 
that such cruelty and inhumanity as are now under re 
view may not be charged to us ! 

To the conduct of the rebel conspirators it adds mon- 
strous aggravation, that these barbarities are being en- 
acted in Eichmond, under the immediate cognisance of 
the so-called " Confederate" authorities Had they ever 
occurred in the wilds of Arkansas or Texas, or among 
the Sioux savages on the Pembina, they might challenge 
some degree of palliation; but, when we call to mind 
that the voluntary starvation of defenceless men is occur- 
ring at Eichmond, within the sound of the voices of 
Jefferson Davis, Judah P. Benjamin, and their associates 
in crime, then does the bogus Confederacy itself become 
responsible for these atrocities to God and man ; and im- 
partial men, all the world over, who use all efforts to 
bewilder the human mind, by leading it into a mazy 
labyrinth of doubt, will reach the inevitable conclusion, 
that these men deserve the scorn of the civilized world, 
not to speak of the just vengeance of Heaven. Surely, 
surely, the vengeance of an incensed Omnipotence must 
ultimately overtake them ! 

Yery truly, your friend, 

E. W. HUTTER, 

Pastor of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, Phil'a. 




Private L. If. PARHAM, 
Company B, 3d "West Tennessee Cavalry. Admitted per Steamer 
New York, from Richmond, Va., May 2d, 1S64. I ied May K'th, 1864, 
from effects of treatment while in the hands of the enemy. — U. P. 
General Hospital, Div. No. 1, Annapolis, Me*. M 



CONDITION OF RELEASED PRISONERS. 51 



RELEASED PRISONERS. 

Report of the Committee on the Conduct of the War 
on the condition of our released prisoners, after their 
confinement in the dens, and prisons, and unsheltered 
fields, at and near Richmond : — 

In Senate, 
Wednesday, May 9, 1864. 

Mr. Wade, from the Joint Committee on the Conduct 
and Expenditures of the War, submitted the following 
Report, with the accompanying testimony : — - 

On the 4th instant your committee received a commu- 
nication of that date from the Secretary of War, en- 
closing the Report of Colonel Hoffman, commissary- 
general of prisoners, elated May 3, calling the attention 
of the committee to the condition of returned Union 
prisoners, with the request that the committee would 
immediately proceed to Annapolis, "and examine with 
their own eyes the condition of those who have returned 
from rebel captivity." The committee resolved that they 
would comply with the request of the Secretary of War 
on the first opportunity. The 5th of May was devoted 
by the committee to conclude their labors upon the in- 
vestigation of the Fort Pillow massacre. On the 6th of 
May, however, the committee proceeded to Annapolis 
and Baltimore, to examine the condition of our returned 
soldiers, and took the testimony of several of them, to- 
gether with the testimony of surgeons, and other persons 
in attendance upon the hospitals. That testimony, with 
the communication of the Secretary of War, and the 
Report of Colonel Hoffman, is herewith submitted. 

The evidence proves, beyond all manner of doubt, a 
determination on the part of the rebel authorities, delibe- 



52 CONDITION OF RELEASED PRISONERS. 

rately and persistently practised for a long time past, to 
subject those of our soldiers who have been so unfortu- 
nate as to fall into their hands, to a system of treatment 
which has resulted in reducing many of those who have 
survived, and been permitted to return to us, to a condi- 
tion, both physically and mentally, which no language 
we can use can adequately describe. Though nearly all 
the patients now in the Naval Academy Hospital, at An 
napolis, and in the West Hospital, at Baltimore, have 
been under the kindest and most intelligent treatment 
for about three weeks past, and many of them for a 
greater length of time, still they present literally the 
appearance of living skeletons — many of them being 
nothing but skin and bone. Some of them are maimed 
for life, from being exposed to the inclemency of the 
winter season on Belle Isle — being compelled to lie upon 
the bare ground, without tents or blankets — some of 
them without overcoats, or even coats — with but little 
fire to mitigate the severity of the wind and storms to 
which they were exposed. 

The testimony shows that the general practice of their 
captors was to rob them, as soon as they were taken pri 
soners, of all their money, valuables, blankets, and good 
clothing, for which they received nothing in exchange, 
except, perhaps, some old worn-out rebel clothing, hardly 
better than none at all. Upon their arrival at Eichmond 
they have been confined, without blankets or other cov- 
ering, in buildings without fire, or upon Belle Isle, in 
many cases with no shelter, and in others with nothing 
but discarded army tents, so injured by rents and holes 
as to present but little barrier to the winds and storms. 
On several occasions the witnesses say they have risen 
in the morning from their resting-places upon the bare 
earth, and found several of their comrades frozen to 



CONDITION OF RELEASED PRISONERS. 53 

death through the night ; and that many others would 
have met the same fate had they not walked rapidly back 
and forth through the hours which should have been de- 
voted to sleep, for the purpose of retaining sufficient 
warmth to preserve life. In respect to the food furnished 
to our men by the rebel authorities; the testimony proves 
that the ration of each man was hardly sufficient in 
quantity to preserve the life of a child, even had it been 
of proper quality, which it was not. It consisted usually, 
at the most, of two small pieces of corn bread, made in 
many instances, as the witnesses say, of corn and cobs 
ground together, and badly prepared and cooked; of 
perhaps two ounces of meat, usually of poor quality, 
and unfit to be eaten ; and occasionally a few black, 
worm-eaten beans, or something of that kind. Many of 
our men were compelled to sell to their guards and others, 
for what price they could get, such clothing and blankets 
as they were permitted to receive and have furnished for 
their use by our Government, in order to obtain suffi- 
cient food to sustain life ; thus, by endeavoring to avoid 
one privation, reducing themselves to the same destitute 
condition, in respect .to clothing and covering, as they 
were in before they received any from our Government. 
When they became diseased and sick, in consequence of 
this exposure and privation, and were admitted into the 
hospital, their treatment was little if any improved as to 
food, though they doubtless suffered less from exposure 
to cold than before. Their food still remained insuffi- 
cient in quantity, and altogether unfit in quality. Their 
diseases and wounds did not receive the treatment which 
the commonest dictates of humanity would have prompted. 
One witness, whom your committee examined, who had 
lost all the toes of one foot, through being frozen on 
Belle Isle, states that for days at a time his wounds were 



54: CONDITION OF EELEASED PRISONERS. 

not dressed, and that they had not been dressed for four 
days when he was taken from the hospital and carried 
on the flag-of-truce boat for Fortress Monroe. In refer- 
ence to the condition to which our men were reduced by 
cold and hunger, your committee would give the follow- 
ing extracts from the testimony : — 

One witness testifies — I had no blankets until our 
uovernment sent us some. 

Quest. — How did you sleep before you received those 
blankets ? 

Ans. — We used to get together just as close as we 
could, and sleep spoon-fashion, so that when one turned 
over we all had to turn over. 

Another witness testifies : — 

Quest. — Were you hungry all the time ? 

Ans. — Hungry! I could eat anything in the world 
that came before us. Some of the boys would get boxes 
from the North, with meat of differeut kinds in them, 
and after they had picked the meat off, they would throw 
the bones away into the spit-boxes, and we would pick 
the bones out of the spit-boxes, and gnaw them over 
again ! 

In addition to this insufficient supply of food, clothing, 
and shelter, our soldiers, while prisoners, have been sub- 
jected to the most cruel treatment from those placed over 
them. They have been abused, and shamefully treated, 
on almost every opportunity. Many have been merci- 
lessly shot and killed when they failed to comply with 
all the demands of their jailors ; sometimes for violating 
rules of which they had not been informed. Crowded 
in great numbers in buildings, they have been fired at 
and killed by the sentinels outside, when they appeared 
at the windows for the purpose of obtaining a little fresh 
air. One man, whose comrade in the service and in 



CONDITION OF RELEASED PRISONERS. 55 

captivity had been so fortunate as to be among those 
released from further torments, was shot dead as he was 
waving with his hand a last adieu to his friend. Other 
instances of equally unprovoked murder are disclosed by 
the testimony. 

, The condition of our returned soldiers, as regards per- 
sonal cleanliness, has been filthy almost beyond descrip- 
tion. Their clothes have been so dirty and covered with 
vermin, that those who have received these men have 
been compelled to destroy their clothing, and re-clothe 
them with new and clean raiment. Their boots and hats 
have been so infested with vermin that, in some instances, 
repeated washings have failed to remove them, and those 
who have received them in charge, have been compelled 
to cut all the hair from their heads, and make applica- 
tions to destroy the vermin. Some have been received 
with no clothing but shirts, and drawers, and pieces of 
blankets, or other outside covering; entirely destitute 
of coats, hats, shoes, or stockings; and the bodies of 
those better supplied with clothing have been equally 
filthy with the others, many who have been sick and in 
the hospital having had no opportunity to wash their 
bodies for weeks and months before they were released 
from captivity. 

Your committee are unable to convey any adequate 
idea of the sad and deplorable condition of the men they 
saw in the hospitals they visited, and the testimony they 
have taken cannot convey to the reader the impressions 
which your committee there received. 'The prisoners we 
saw, as we were assured by those in charge of them, 
have greatly improved since they have been received in 
the hospitals, yet they are now dying daily, one of them 
being in the very throes of death ; and your committee 
stood by his bed-side and witnessed the sad spectacle 



56 CONDITION OF RELEASED PRISONERS. 

there presented. All those whom your committee ex- 
amined, stated that they have been thus reduced and 
emaciated entirely in consequence of the merciless treat 
ment they received while prisoners, from their enemies 
Physicians in charge of them — the men best fitted hy 
their profession and experience to express an opinion 
upon the subject — all say that they have no doubt the 
statements of their patients are entirely correct. 

It will be observed from the testimony, that all the 
witnesses who testified upon that point, state that the 
treatment they received, while confined at Columbia, 
South Carolina, Dal ton, Georgia, and other places, was 
far more humane than that they received at Richmond, 
where the authorities of the so-called Confederacy were 
congregated, and where the power existed, had the in- 
clination not been wanting, to reform these abuses, and 
secure to the prisoners they held, some treatment that 
would bear a feeble comparison to that accorded by our 
authorities to the prisoners in our custody. Your com- 
mittee, therefore, are constrained to say that they can 
hardly avoid the conclusion expressed by so many of 
our released soldiers, that the inhuman practices herein 
referred to, are the result of a determination, on the part 
of the rebel authorities, to reduce our soldiers in their 
power by privation of food and clothing, and by ex- 
posure, to such a condition that those who may survive, 
shall never recover so as to be able to enter into effective 
service in the field ; and your committee accordingly ask 
that this report, with the accompanying testimony, be 
printed, with the report and testimony in relation to the 
massacre of Fort Pillow — the one being, in their opinion, 
no less than the other the result of a predetermined 
policy. As regards the assertions of some of the rebel 
newspapers, that our prisoners have received at their 




Private EDWARD CUNNINGHAM, 
Company F, 7th Ohio Cavalry, Admitted from Flag-of-truce boat, 
April 18th, 1864.— West's Building Hospital, Baltimore, Mi. 



CONDITION OF RELEASED PRISONERS. 57 

uands the same treatment that their own soldiers in the 
field have received, they are evidently but the most 
glaring and unblushing falsehoods. No one can, for a 
moment, be deceived by such statements, who will reflect 
that our soldiers who, when taken prisoners, have been 
stout, healthy men, in the prime and vigor of life, yet 
have died by hundreds under the treatment they have 
received, although required to perform no duties of the 
camp or the march ; while the rebel soldiers are able to 
make long and rapid marches, and to offer a stubborn 
resistance in the field. 

There is one feature connected with this investigation 
to which your committee can refer with pride and satis- 
faction ; that is, the uncomplaining fortitude, the undi- 
minished patriotism exhibited by our brave men under 
all their privations — even in the hour of death. Your 
committee would close their report by quoting the 
tribute paid these men by the Chaplain of the hospital 
at Annapolis, who has ministered to so many of them in 
their last moments, who has smoothed their passage to 
the grave by his kindness and attention, and who has 
performed the last sad offices over their lifeless remains. 
He says : — 

" There is one thing I should wish to state. All the 
men, without any exception, among the thousands that 
have come to this hospital, have never, in a single in- 
stance, expressed a regret (notwithstanding the priva- 
tions and sufferings they have endured) that they entered 
their country's service. They have been the most loyal, 
devoted, and earnest men. Even in the last day of their 
lives, they have said that all they hoped for was just to 
live and enter the ranks again, and meet their foes. It 
is a most glorious record in reference to the devotion of 
our men to their country. I do not think their patriot- 
ism has ever been equalled in the history of the world." 



58 PRISONERS TAKEN AT CHICKAMAUGA. 



TREATMENT OF PRISONERS CAPTURED AT THE 
BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA 

DIARY OF A SOLDIER. 

Steward's Hospital, September 20th, 1863. 

At nine o'clock this morning, I was wounded and 
captured by the rebels ; was hurried to the rear as fast 
as possible, with quite a number of our wounded. We 
were taken to the Steward's Hospital, some three miles 
from the battle-field ; were put out upon the ground, with 
no shelter whatever, and a great many of us had no 
blankets. There were some eighty of our wounded at 
this place. Dr. Hamilton (rebel) came round and ex- 
amined our wounds. Some of the worst cases were 
washed, and partially dressed. Toward evening, all that 
were able were marched off — Captain Mc Williams and 
Lieutenant Cole, of the Fifty-first Illinois Infantry, were 
among them ; about sundown we were forced to believe 
our troops were falling back. The rebels are jubilant ; 
they say they have captured half of Kosecrans's army. 

September 21st. — To-day the rebels have been so jubi- 
lant on what they term the " Yankee rout," that they 
have taken no notice whatever of the men lying welter- 
ing in their blood, suffering beyond description. 

September 22d. — To-day we had a man die. Dr. Story 
(rebel) has been put in charge of all the Yankee wounded. 
He appears to be a gentleman, but as yet there has been 
nothing done for the wounded, who are suffering in- 
tensely. 

September 23d. — To-day the doctors dressed most of 
the wounds. Many of the men have shattered limbs, 
and* are suffering beyond description. We have had 
nothing to eat since we came here. 



PRISONERS TAKEN AT CHICKAMAUGA. 59 

September 24th. — Two of our men died to-day. They 
had shattered limbs, and the worms had got into their 
wounds. Had they had proper attention they probably 
could have been saved. 

September 25th. — The rebels say they have driven 
Rosecrans over the river, also Burnside out of East Ten- 
nessee. The doctors are having a spree over it — no 
attention has been paid us to-day; there are two or 
three hundred rebel wounded here that have to be at- 
tended to first. One man died to-day. 

September 26th. — To-day we drew the first rations we 
have had since we came — a ration consisting of half a 
pint of corn meal and two ounces of beef, a miserable 
pittance for a hungry man. No doctor has been near to- 
day. Some of the men are suffering intensely ; the 
rebels don't seem to care how many of us die. Heavy 
firing heard in the direction of Chattanooga. 

September 27th. — We lost one man by death to-day. 
Two of the boys have had limbs amputated — both will 
probably die. The boys are suffering a great deal from 
their wounds ; mortification has taken place in many in- 
stances, while some have worms in their wounds. Many 
are very sick ; no medicine to be had. 

September 28th. — We lost two by death to-day ; arte- 
ries burst, surgeons absent — bled to death ! We have 
nothing to eat to-day. I believe they mean to starve us 
to death. It is a pitiful sight to see the haggard coun- 
tenances of the men. To-day they have sent two hun- 
dred rebel wounded to the hospitals. 

September 29th. — Dr. Hamilton told us, this morning, 
that arrangements have been made to send all through 
our lines. We drew rations to-day. 

September 30th. — To-day our boys are trading their 
pocket-knives and everything they can for rations. 



60 PRISONERS TAKEN AT CHICKAMAUGA. 

There is scarcely five dollars among us. The miserable 
thieves robbed us of everything we had. To-day has 
been a day of intense suffering among our men. It has 
rained all day, and we have no shelter. 

October 1st. — It rained all last night ; we look like 
a set of drowned rats. Some of the boys are very sick ; 
many must die with such treatment. The sergeant of 
the guard procured a tent for eight of us. Dr. Story 
does all he can for us. We drew our pittance of corn 
meal to-day. 

October 2d. — "We expect to leave here to-day. I sin- 
cerely hope we will ; I long to be in God's country once 
more, and behold the good old flag again. The lice and 
filth here are intolerable. 

October 3d. — No signs of leaving yet. Dr. Story is 
doing his best to make us comfortable, but we have no 
bandages with which to dress our wounds. Two deaths 
to-day. 

October 4th. — To-day is very cold ; we have no blan- 
kets, hence there is a great deal of suffering from cold. 
Our rations have run out, and taking all things into con- 
sideration it would be hard to embitter our condition. 

October oth. — Heavy cannonading has been going on 
in the front all day. The Eebels say they are shelling 
Chattanooga. We learned to-day that the armistice was 
over, and that we would have to take a trip to Rich- 
mond ; the trip will doubtless kill quite a number of 
us. We got our mush to-day. Intense suffering from 
cold nights. 

October 6th. — We expected to leave here to-day for 
Atlanta, but for some reason the ambulances have not 
come. All we have to eat is mush, with little or no salt 
in it. Many are suffering from diarrhoea. 

October 7th. — To-day we drew rations of flour. Cap- 



PRISONERS TAKEN AT CHICKAMAUGA. 61 

tain Foster, Forty-second Illinois, is baking bread. One 
of our men died to-day. We have lost fourteen by death 
since we came here. 

October 8th. — At nine A. M., this morning, we were 
stowed in lumber- wagons and hauled to Einggold, a dis- 
tance of eight miles, over the roughest road I ever 
travelled ; many of the men were so sick that they could 
not raise their heads. 

October 9th. — Last night they put one hundred and 
eighty of us into box-cars and brought us to Dalton, 
where we stopped for the night. We had to sleep in the 
cars ; and they gave us no supper. The night was very 
cold ; it was heart-rending to witness the suffering among 
the sick and wounded. This morning, we left for Dalton 
without breakfast, and arrived at Atlanta, Georgia, at 
six A. M. We were then taken to a military prison, 
where we now lie upon the ground, with no shelter and 
no fires. Our wounds have not been dressed for three 
days. The stench is awful. 

October 10th. — We are under the charge of our own 
doctors here, but the rebels won't furnish bandages to 
dress the wounds. I never suffered so from hunger in 
all my life. They have been promising us rations all 
day, and now they tell us it will be here early in the 
morning. The boys are selling their rings and every- 
thing they have for something to eat. 

October 11th. — We are a little more comfortable to- 
day; the surgeons have amputated several limbs, and 
dressed all the wounds. One man died this morning. 
On the 7th instant, one of our men was shot by the 
guard for going too near the fence. One of our officers 
is here, carrying around a thirty-two pound ball and 
chain. Several of the men are handcuffed. 

October 12th. — Two men died last night; the wounded 
6 



62 PRISONERS TAKEN AT CHICKAMAUGA. 

are doing pretty well under treatment of our surgeons. 
We get a little better rations, but not enough. Later — ■ 
All the wounded that were able, were taken out of prison 
and put in tents. Things are much more comfortable 
here. 

October 13th. — This morning the names of all those 
who are able to travel were taken. We start for Eich- 
mond to-morrow. We drew five days' rations to-night — 
ten crackers and half a pound of pork to a man. 

October 14th. — At two A. M. we fell in, marched down 
to the depot, a distance of one mile ; many of us had to 
go on crutches. There were over two hundred of us, 
and we were put into five box-cars. Only those who 
have experienced it know how we suffered on the train ; 
for eight days we were jammed up in these cars. One 
of our number died, and we had to leave several at hos- 
pitals on the road. Our five days' rations lasted only 
two, and those who had no money had to share with the 
rest. Bread was a dollar a loaf, and pies sold as high as 
two dollars. The 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th ; 19th, and 20th 
were spent in the cars. 

October 21st. — Arrived at Eichmond, and were put in 
Libby. Although we found this a miserable hole, it was 
much better than the filthy, lousy cars. When we got 
to Libby we were as nearly starved as men can be, and 
navigate. We drew our rations here, and got our wounds 
dressed, although no surgeon was there. 

October 2 2d. — To-day they have stopped our rations 
for punishment. Four men escaped from Castle Thun- 
der last night. We got grub from our officers, who are 
confined above, but we have to be very sly, as they allow 
no communications to be held between us and them. 

October 23d. — They still keep our rations from us. 
The wounded are doing pretty well, but we are all so 



PRISONERS TAKEN AT CHICKAMAUGA. 63 

» 

dirty and filthy it is a wonder we don't catch some con- 
tagious disease ; we can get no soap to wash with. 

October 24th. — This morning all the wounded were 
taken to the Alabama Hospital, and all those that were 
not wounded were sent to Belle Isle, to remain there until 
exchanged or starved to death, the latter the most pro- 
bable. 

October 25th. — "We are much more comfortably situ- 
ated than we were in Libby. We have a very good 
room, yet we have no blankets, and have to sleep on the 
floor. There is no medicine even here. 

October 26th. — Nothing of importance to-day. 

October 27th. — To-day they took the names of one 
hundred and eighty- five of the worst wounded to ex- 
change at nine P. M. We were put in a scow, and started 
for City Point. 

October 28th. — We are now on the flag-of-truce boat 
New York. The stars and stripes float proudly above 
us, yet it is a sorrowful sight to see the poor boys look 
like skeletons. I venture not more than ten of our 
number will weigh one hundred pounds. I fear quite a 
number of the boys will die ; they are beyond medical 
skill. 

October 29th. — I feel like a white man, now, the first 
time since I was captured. We are now in St. John's 
College Hospital. Each one of us had to take a good 
scrub, and were put into a clean shirt, after which the 
most welcome of all things came — a beautiful roast. I 
trust our troubles are ended for a season. 



64 THE FOET PILLOW MASSACRE. 

THE FORT PILLOW MASSACRE. 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR. 

Messrs. Wade and Gooch, the sub-committee ap- 
pointed by the Joint Committee on the Conduct and Ex- 
penditures of the War, with instructions to proceed to 
such points as they might deem necessary for the purpose 
of taking testimony in regard to the massacre at Fort 
Pillow, submitted the following report to the joint com- 
mittee, together with the accompanying testimony and 
papers. 

In obedience to the instructions of this joint com- 
mittee, adopted on the 18th ultimo, your committee left 
Washington on the morning of the 19th, taking with 
them the stenographer of this committee, and proceeded 
to Cairo and Mound City, Illinois, Columbus, Kentucky, 
and Fort Pillow and Memphis, Tennessee, at each of 
which places they proceeded to take testimony. 

Although your committee were instructed to inquire 
only in reference to the attack, capture, and massacre of 
Fort Pillow, they have deemed it proper to take some 
testimony in reference to the operations of Forrest and 
his command, immediately preceding and subsequent to 
that horrible transaction. It will appear from the testi- 
mony thus taken, that the atrocities committed at Fort 
Pillow were not the result of passions excited by the 
heat of conflict, but were results of a policy deliberately 
decided upon, and unhesitatingly announced. Even if 
the uncertainty of the fate of those officers and men, 
belonging to colored regiments, who have heretofore 
been taken prisoners by the rebels, has failed to convince 
the authorities of our Government of this fact, the testi 



FORT PILLOW MASSACRE. 65 

mony herewith submitted must convince even the most 
sceptical that it is the intention of the rebel authorities 
not to recognise the officers and men of our colored 
regiments, as entitled to the treatment accorded by all 
civilized nations to prisoners of*war. The declarations 
of Forrest and his officers, both before and after the cap- 
ture of Fort Pillow, as testified to by such of our men as 
have escaped after being taken by him ; the threats con- 
tained in the various demands for surrender made at 
Paducah, Columbus, and other places; the renewal of 
the massacre the morning after the capture of Fort 
Pillow ; the statements made by the rebel officers to the 
officers of our gunboats, who received the few survivors 
at Fort Pillow — all this proves most conclusively the 
policy they have determined to adopt. 

The first operation of any importance was the attack 
apon Union City, Tennessee, by a portion of Forrest's 
command. The attack was made on the 24th of March. 
The post was occupied by a force of about five hundred 
men, under Colonel Hawkins, of the Seventh Tennessee 
Union Cavalry. The attacking force was superior in 
numbers, but was repulsed several times by our own 
forces. For the particulars of the attack, and the cir- 
cumstances attending the surrender, your committee 
would refer to the testimony submitted. They would 
state, however, that it would appear from the testimony 
that the surrender was opposed by nearly if not quite all 
the officers of Colonel Hawkins's command. Your com- 
mittee think that the circumstances connected with the 
surrender are such that they demand the most searching 
investigation by the military authorities, as, at the time 
of the surrender, but one man on our side had been 
injured. 

On the 25th of March, the enemy, under the rebel 
6* 



66 FORT PILLOW MASSACRE. 

Generals Forrest, Buford, Harris, and Thompson, esti- 
mated at over six thousand men, made an attack on 
Paducah, Kentucky, which post was occupied by Colonel 
S. G. Hicks, Fortieth Illinois Kegiment, with six hun- 
dred and fifty-five men. Our forces retired into Fort 
Anderson, and there made their stand, assisted by some 
gunboats belonging to the command of Captain Shirk, 
of the navy, successfully repelling the attacks of the 
enemy. Failing to make any impression upon our forces, 
Forrest then demanded an unconditional surrender, 
closing his communication to Colonel Hicks in these 
words : " If you surrender you shall be treated as prison- 
ers of war. But if I have to storm youi works you may 
expect no quarter." This demand and threat was met 
by a refusal. on the part of Colonel Hicks to surrender, 
he stating that he had been placed there by his Govern- 
ment to defend that post, and he should do so. The 
rebels made three other assaults that same day, but were 
repulsed with heavy loss each time ; the rebel General 
Thompson being killed in the last assault. The enemy 
retired next day, having suffered a loss estimated at 
three hundred killed, and from one thousand to twelve 
hundred wounded. The loss on our side was fourteen 
killed and forty- six wounded. 

The operations of the enemy at Paducah were charac- 
terized by the same bad faith and treachery that seems 
to have become the settled policy of Forrest and his 
command. The flag of truce was taken advantage of 
there, as elsewhere, to secure desirable positions which 
the rebels were unable to obtain by fair and honorable 
means ; and also to afford opportunities for plundering 
private stores as well as Government property. At Pa- 
ducah the rebels were guilty of acts more cowardly, if 
possible, than any they have practised elsewhere. When 



FORT PILLOW MASSACRE. 67 

the attack was made, the officers of the fort and of the 
gunboats advised the women and children to go to the 
river, for the purpose of being taken across out of dan- 
ger. As they were leaving the town for that purpose 
the rebel sharpshooters mingled with them, and, shielded 
by their presence, advanced and fired upon the gunboats, 
wounding some of our officers and men. Our forces 
could not return the fire without endangering the lives 
of the women and children. The rebels also placed wo- 
men in front of their lines as they moved on the fort, or 
were proceeding to take positions, while the flag of truce 
was at the fort in order to compel our men to withhold 
their fire, out of regard for the lives of the women, who 
were made use of in this most cowardly manner. For 
more full details of the attack, and the treacherous and 
cowardly practices of the rebels there, your committee 
refer to the testimony herewith submitted. 

On the 13 th of April, the day after the capture of 
Fort Pillow, the rebel General Buford appeared before 
Columbus, Kentucky, and demanded its unconditional 
surrender. He coupled with that demand a threat that 
if the place was not surrendered, and he should be com- 
pelled to attack it, " no quarter whatever should be shown 
to negro troops." To this Colonel Lawrence, in command 
of the fort, replied that " surrender was out of the ques- 
tion, as he had been placed there by his Government to 
hold and defend the place, and should do so." No attack 
was made, but the enemy retired, having taken advan- 
tage of the flag of truce to take some horses of Union 
citizens, which had been brought in there for security. 

It was at Fort Pillow, however, that the brutality and 
cruelty of the rebels were most fearfully exhibited. The 
garrison there, according to the last returns received 
at head-quarters, amounted to nineteen officers and five 



68 FOKT PILLOW MASSACRE. 

hundred and thirty-eight enlisted men, of whom two 
hundred and sixty-two men were colored troops, com- 
prising one battalion of the Sixth United States Heavy 
Artillery (formerly the First Alabama Artillery) of 
colored troops, under command of Major W. J. Booth; 
one section of the Second United States Light Artillery, 
colored, and one battalion of the Thirteenth Tennessee 
Cavalry, white, commanded by Major W. F. Bradford. 
Major Booth was the ranking officer, and was in com- 
mand of the fort. 

On Monday, the 12th of April, the anniversary of the 
attack on Fort Sumter, in April, 1861, the pickets of the 
garrison were driven in just before sunrise, that being 
the first intimation our forces then had of any intention 
on the part of the enemy to attack that place. Fighting 
soon became general, and, about nine o'clock, Major 
Booth was killed. Major Bradford succeeded to the 
command, and withdrew all the forces within the fort. 
They had previously occupied some intrenchments at 
some distance from the fort, and further from the river. 

This fort was situated on a high bluff, which descended 
precipitately to the river's edge, the ridge of the bluff on 
the river side being covered with trees, bushes, and 
fallen timber. Extending back from the river on either 
side of the fort was a ravine or hollow, the one below 
the fort containing several private stores and some dwell- 
ings, constituting what was called the town. At the 
mouth of that ravine, and on the river bank, were some 
Government buildings containing commissary stores 
The ravine above the fort was known as Cold Creek 
Eavine, the ridge being covered with trees and bushes. 
To the right, or below, and a little to the front of the 
fort was a level piece of ground, not quite so elevated as 
the fori itself, on which had been erected some log huts, 



FORT PILLOW MASSACRE. 69 

or shanties, which were occupied by the white troops, 
and also used for hospital and other purposes. Within 
the fort tents had been erected with board floors, for the 
use of the colored troops. There were six pieces of ar- 
tillery in the fort, consisting of two six-pounders, two 
twelve-pounder howitzers, and two ten-pounder Parrots. 

The rebels continued their attack, but up to two or 
three o'clock in the afternoon they had not gained any 
decisive success. Our troops, both white and black, 
fought most bravely, and were in good spirits. The 
gunboat No. 7, New Era, Captain Marshall, took part in 
the conflict, shelling the enemy as opportunity offered. 
Signals had been agreed upon, by which the officers in 
the fort could indicate where the guns of the fort could 
be most effective. There being but one gunboat there, 
no permanent impression appears to have been produced 
upon the enemy ; for as they were shelled out of one 
ravine they would make their appearance in the other. 
They would thus appear and retire as the gunboat moved 
from one point to the other. About one o'clock the fire 
on both sides slackened somewhat, and the gunboat 
moved out in the river to clean and cool the guns, having 
fired two hundred and eighty -two rounds of shell, shrap- 
nel, and cannister, which nearly exhausted the supply of 
ammunition. 

The rebels, having thus far failed in their attack, now 
resorted to their customary flags of truce. The first flag 
of truce conveyed a demand from Forrest for the uncon- 
ditional surrender of the fort. To this Major Bradford 
replied, asking to be allowed one hour to consult with 
his officers and the officers of the gunboat. In a. short 
time a second flag of truce appeared, with a communica- 
tion from Forrest, that he would allow Major Bradford 
twenty minutes in which to move his troops out of the 



70 FORT PILLOW MASSACRE. 

fort ; and if it was not done within that time an assault 
would be ordered. To this, Major Bradford returned 
the reply, that he would not surrender. 

During the time these flags of truce were flying, the 
rebels were moving down the ravines and taking po- 
sitions from which the more readily to charge upon the 
fort. Parties of them were also engaged in plundering 
tile government buildings, and commissary and quarter- 
master's stores, in full view of the gunboat. Captain 
Marshall states that he refrained from firing upon the 
rebels, although they were thus violating the flag of 
truce, for fear that should they finally succeed in captur- 
ing the fort, they would justify any atrocities they might 
commit, by saying that they were in retaliation for his 
firing while the flag of truce was flying. He says, how- 
ever, that when he saw the rebels coming down the 
ravine, above the fort, and taking positions there, he got 
under weigh and stood for the fort — "I determined to use 
what little ammunition we had left in shelling them out 
of the ravine." But he did not get up within effective 
range before the final assault was made. 

Immediately after the second flag of truce retired, the 
rebels made a rush from the positions they had so treach- 
erously gained, and obtained possession of the fort, rais- 
ing the cry of "No quarter!" But little opportunity 
was allowed for resistance. Our troops, black and white, 
threw down their arms, and sought to escape by running 
down the steep bluff near the fort, and secreting them- 
selves behind trees and logs, in the bushes, and under 
the brush — some even jumping into the river, leaving 
only their heads above the water, as they crouched down 
under the bank. 

Then followed a scene of cruelty and murder without 
parallel in civilized warfare, which needed but the toma- 



FORT PILLOW MASSACRE. 71 

hawk and scalping-knife to exceed the worst atrocities 
ever committed by savages. The rebels commenced an 
indiscriminate slaughter, sparing neither age nor sex, 
white or black, soldier or civilian. The officers and men 
seemed to vie with each other in the devilish work. Men 
and women, and even children, wherever found, were 
deliberately shot down, beaten, and hacked with sabres. 
Some of the children, not more than ten years old, were 
forced to stand up and face their murderers while being 
shot. The sick and wounded were butchered without 
mercy, the rebels even entering the hospital-building 
and dragging them out to be shot, or killing them as 
they lay there unable to offer the least resistance. All 
over the hillside the work of murder was going on. 
Numbers of our men were collected together in lines or 
groups and deliberately shot. Some were shot while in 
the river, while others on the bank were shot and their 
bodies kicked into the water, many of them still living, 
but unable to make any exertions to save themselves 
from drowning. Some of the rebels stood upon the top 
of the hill, or a short distance down its side, and called 
to our soldiers to come up to them — and as they ap- 
proached, shot them down in cold blood : if their guns 
or pistols missed fire, forcing them to stand there until 
they were again prepared to fire. All around were heard 
cries of " No quarter ! no quarter ! kill the d — d niggers, 
shoot them down!" All who asked for mercy were 
answered by the most cruel taunts and sneers. Some 
were spared for a time, only to be murdered under cir- 
cumstances of greater cruelty. 

No cruelty which the most fiendish malignity could 
devise was omitted by these murderers. One white 
soldier, who was wounded in one leg so as to be unable 
to walk, was made to stand up while his tormentors shot 



12 FORT PILLOW MASSACRE. 

liim. Others who were wounded and unable to stand 
up, were held up and again shot. One negro, who had 
been ordered by a rebel officer to hold his horse, was 
killed by him when he remonstrated. Another, a mere 
child, whom an officer had taken up behind him on his 
horse, was seen by Chalmers, who at once ordered the 
officer to put him down and shoot him — which was done. 
The huts and tents in which many of the wounded had 
sought shelter were set on fire, both that night and the 
next morning, while the wounded were still in them — > 
those only escaping who were able to get themselves out, 
or who could prevail on others less injured than them- 
selves to help them out ; and even some of these, thus 
seeking to escape the flames, were met by these ruffians 
and brutally shot down, or had their brains beaten out. 

One man was deliberately fastened down to the floor 
of a tent, face upwards, by means of nails driven through 
his clothing and into the boards under him, so that he 
could not possibly escape, and then the tent set on fire. 
Another was nailed to the side of a building outside of 
the fort, and then the building set on fire and burned. 
The charred remains of five or six bodies were after- 
wards found, all but one so much disfigured and con- 
sumed by the flames that they could not be identified ; 
and the identification of that one is not absolutely certain, 
although there can hardly be a doubt that it was the body 
of Lieutenant Akerstoom, Quartermaster of the Thirteenth 
Virginia Cavalry, and a native Tennesseean. Several 
witnesses who saw the remains, and who were personally 
acquainted with him while living, have testified that it 
is their firm belief that it was his body that was thus 
treated. 

These deeds of murder and cruelty closed when night 
came on only to be renewed the next morning, when the 



FORT PILLOW MASSACRE. 73 

demons carefully sought among the dead, lying about in 
all directions, for any other wounded yet alive, and 
those they found were deliberately shot. Scores of the 
dead and wounded were found there the day of the mas- 
sacre, by the men from some of our gunboats, who were 
permitted to go on shore and collect the wounded and* 
bury the dead. The rebels themselves had made a pre- 
tence of burying a great many of their victims, but they 
had merely thrown them, without the least regard to care 
or decency, into the trenches and ditches about the fort, 
or the little hollows and ravines on the hillside, covering 
them but partially with earth. Portions of heads and 
faces, hands and feet, were found protruding through the 
earth in every direction ; and even when your com- 
mittee visited the spot, two weeks afterwards, although 
parties of men had been sent on shore from time to time 
to bury the bodies unburied, and rebury the others, and 
were then engaged in the same work, we found the evi- 
dences of this murder and cruelty still most painfully. 

We saw bodies still unburied (at some distance from 
the fort) of some sick men who had been met fleeing 
from the hospital, and beaten down and brutally mur- 
dered, and their bodies left where they had fallen. We 
could still see the faces, and hands, and feet, of men, 
white and black, protruding out of the ground, whose 
graves had not been reached by those engaged in reinter- 
ring the victims of the massacre ; and although a great 
deal of rain had fallen within the preceding two weeks, 
the ground, more especially on the side and at the foot 
of the bluff where most of the murders had been com- 
mitted, was still discolored by the blood of our brave 
but unfortunate men, and the logs and trees showed but 
too plainly the evidences of the atrocities perpetrated 
there. 
7 



74 FORT PILLOW MASSACRE. 

Many other instances of equally atrocious cruelty 
might be enumerated, but your committee feel compelled 
to refrain from giving here more of the heart- sickening 
details, and refer to the statements contained in the vo- 
luminous testimony herewith submitted. 

Those statements were obtained by them from eye- 
witnesses and sufferers. Many of them, as they were 
examined by your committee, were lying upon beds of 
pain and suffering, some so feeble that their lips could 
with difficulty frame the words by which they endeavored 
to convey some idea of the cruelties which had been in- 
flicted on them, and which they had seen inflicted on 
others. 

In reference to the fate of Major Bradford, who was 
in command of the fort when it was captured, and who 
had up to that time received no injury, there seems to be 
no doubt. The general understanding seems to be that 
he had been brutally murdered the day after he was 
taken prisoner. 

How many of our troops thus fell victims to the ma- 
lignity and barbarity of Forrest and his followers cannot 
yet be definitely ascertained. Two officers belonging to 
the garrison were absent at the time of the capture and 
massacre. Of the remaining officers but two are known 
to be living, and they are wounded now in the hospital 
at Mound City ; one of them, Captain Porter, may even 
now be dead, as the surgeons, when your committee 
were there, expressed no hope of his recovery. Of the 
men, from three hundred to four hundred are known to 
have been killed at Fort Pillow, of whom at least three 
hundred were murdered in cold blood after the fort was 
in possession of the rebels, and Our men had thrown 
down their arms, and ceased to offer resistance. Of the 
survivors, except the wounded in the hospital at Mound 



FORT PILLOW MASSACRE. 75 

City and the few who succeeded in making their escape 
unhurt, nothing definite is known, and it is to be feared 
that many have been murdered after being taken away 
from the fort. 

When your committee arrived at Memphis, Tennessee, 
they found and examined a man, Mr. McLagan, who had 
been conscripted by some of Forrest's forces, but who, 
with other conscripts, had succeeded in making his 
escape. 

He testifies that while two companies of rebel troops, 
with Major Bradford and many other prisoners, were on 
the march from Brownsville to Jackson, Tennessee, 
Major Bradford was taken by five rebels, one an officer, 
led about fifty yards from the line of march, and delibe- 
rately murdered, in view of all there assembled. He 
fell, killed instantly by three musket-balls, even while 
asking that his life might be spared, as he had fought 
them manfully, and was deserving of a better fate. The 
motive for the murder of Major Bradford seems to have 
been the simple fact that, although a native of the South, 
he remained loyal to his Government. The testimony 
herewith submitted contains many statements made by 
the rebels that they did not intend to treat ''home-made 
Yankees," as they termed loyal Southerners, " any better 
than negro troops." 

There is one circumstance connected with the events 
herein narrated which your committee cannot permit to 
pass unnoticed. The testimony herewith submitted dis- 
closes this most astounding and shameful fact : On the 
morning of the day succeeding the capture of Fort Pil- 
low, the gunboat Silver Cloud (No. 28), the transport 
Platte Valley, and the gunboat New Era (No. 7), landed 
at Fort Pillow under flag of truce, for the purpose of 
receiving the few wounded there, and burying the dead. 



76 FORT PILLOW MASSACRE. 

While they were lying there, the rebel General Chal- 
mers, and other rebel officers, came down to the landing, 
and some of them went on the boats. Notwithstanding 
the evidences of rebel atrocity and barbarity with which 
the ground was covered, there were some of our army 
officers on board the Platte Valley so lost to every feel- 
ing of decency, honor, and self-respect, as to make them- 
selves disgracefully conspicuous in bestowing civilities 
and attention upon the rebel officers, even while they 
were boasting of the murders they had there committed. 

Your committee were unable to ascertain the names 
of the officers who have thus inflicted so foul a stain 
upon the honor of our army. They are assured, how- 
ever, by the military authorities that every effort will be 
made to ascertain their names, and bring them to the 
punishment they so richly merit. 

In relation to the reinforcement or evacuation of Fort 
Pillow, it would appear that the troops there stationed 
were withdrawn on the 25th of January last, in order to 
accompany the Meridian Expedition, under General Sher 
man. General Hurlbut testifies that he never received 
any instructions to permanently vacate the post, and 
deeming it important to occupy it so that the rebels 
should not interrupt the navigation of the Mississippi 
by planting artillery there, he sent some troops there 
about the middle of February, increasing their number 
afterwards until the garrison amounted to nearly six 
hundred men. He also states that as soon as he learned 
that the place was attacked, he immediately took mea- 
sures to send up reinforcements from Memphis, and they 
were actually embarking when he received information 
of the capture of the fort. 

Your committee cannot close this report without ex- 
pressing their obligations to the officers of the army, and 



FORT PILLOW MASSACRE. 77 

many with whom they were brought in contact, for the 
assistance they rendered. It is true, your committee 
were furnished by the Secretary of War with the fullest 
authority to call upon any one in the army for such ser- 
vices as they might require to enable them to make the 
investigation devolved upon them by Congress. But 
they found that no such authority was needed. The 
army and navy officers at every point they visited, 
evinced a desire to aid the committee in every way in 
their power, and all expressed the highest satisfaction 
that Congress had so promptly taken steps to ascertain 
the facts connected with this fearful and bloody transaction, 
and the hope that the investigation would lead to prompt 
and decisive measures on the part of the Government. 
Y"our committee would mention more particularly the 
names of General Mason Brayman, military command- 
ant at Cairo ; Captain J. H. Odlin, his chief of staff; 
Captain A. M. Pennock, United States Navy, Fleet Cap- 
tain of Mississippi Squadron ; Captain James W. Shirk, 
United States Navy, commanding Seventh District Mis- 
sissippi Squadron ; Surgeon Horace Wardner, in charge 
of Mound City General Hosoital ; Captain Thomas M. 
Farrell, United States Navy, in command of gunboat 
Hastings (furnished by Captain Pennock, to convey the 
committee to Fort Pillow and Memphis); Captain Thomas 
Pattison, naval commandant at Memphis ; General C. C. 
Washburne ; and the officers of their commands, as among 
those to whom they are indebted for assistance and atten- 
tion. 

All of which is respectfully submitted. 

B. F. Wade. 
D. W. Goocn. 

Adopted by the committee as their report. 

B. F. Wade, Chairman. 
7* 



PART II. 

PERSECUTION OF UNIONISTS IN THE 
REVOLTED STATES; 

OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS, ETC. 



PERSECUTION OF UNIONISTS 



IN THE 



REVOLTED STATES; 

OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS, ETC. 



PRELIMINARY. 



The volumes of history scarcely furnish a chaptei 
more replete with fiendish cruelty and atrocity, than do 
authentic accounts of the treatment of Unionists in the 
revolted States; while at the North, Secession sympa- 
thizers have generally been unmolested, have been 
allowed freely to express their opinions, and to discuss 
and condemn all measures employed for the suppression 
of the revolt, Unionists in the revolted states have been 
persecuted in every way, and subjected to every out- 
rage; have been shot down without ceremony, hung 
without trial, hunted with blood-hounds, and tortured 
without mercy. Indeed, violence and savage ferocity 
have characterized the rebellion from the beginning, and 
by these means mainly have the masses of the Southern 
people been overawed, and made to acquiesce in the 
revolt. 

This is so forcibly set forth in the following commu- 
nication from Captain D. H. Bingham, of Alabama, that 

we insert it in this place. 

(81) 



82 INAUGURATION OF THE 



INAUGURATION OF THE REIGN OF TERROR. 

"When the rebellious states seceded in the fall and 
winter of 1860-1, the masses of the people were violently 
opposed to the measure, and in their primary meetings 
and social gatherings, expressed their opposition in no 
equivocal terms. Hence it was determined to inaugurate 
a reign of terror, in order to stifle the voice of opposi- 
tion, and secure uniformity of sentiment and action. 

As South Carolina was the first state to secede, so it 
was the first theatre of those barbarous cruelties which 
were designed to overawe the non-slaveholding popula- 
tion, who, however numerous, had few political rights, 
and no social position, and had been accustomed to be as 
submissive to the behest of the slaveholders as the 
negroes themselves. The reign of terror was introduced 
by putting forward that class of reckless and brutalized 
men, known as overseers and negro-drivers, who hav r e 
ever been found ready, at the bidding of their employers, 
the slaveholders, to engage in the most atrocious acts. 
This class of menials were organized into squads of half 
a dozen, more or less according to exigency or design of 
the service they were expected to perform, and their 
business was to ride through the different neighborhoods, 
and inquire into the sentiments of every poor man, and 
wherever they found one who expressed himself as 
willing to give the administration of Mr. Lincoln a fair 
trial, he was forthwith taken out and "Lynched," until 
he professed to renounce his sentiments. In this way 
was South Carolina revolutionized within twenty days. 

In other states, in which the non-slaveholding white 
population was proportionally larger, a somewhat differ- 
ent mode of operation was adopted to secure the same 



REIGN OF TERROR. 83 

object. In Alabama, particularly the northern portion 
of the state, vigilance committees were organized, self- 
constituted in many cases, under the pretence that the 
country was full of abolitionists, and that the officers of 
the law were inadequate to the protection of the people 
against these emissaries of the Lincoln Government. 
These vigilance committees had their secret conclaves, 
in which measures were discussed, plans laid, plots de- 
vised, charges manufactured. At first the free negroes 
particularly were assailed. They were unceremoniously 
dragged before the committees, tried in secret, con- 
demned, and led forth to execution without the public 
knowing for what, beyond the statement of the members 
that the evidence was sufficient. Among those who 
were thus condemned and executed, was an aged negro 
preacher, who had lived about Mooresville, Limestone 
county, Alabama. He was hung in February or March 
of 1861, his heart cut out and carried upon the point of 
a knife through the streets by a semi-barbarian drunk- 
ard ; and the public do not know, to this day, the evi- 
dence on which that negro was executed, beyond the 
mere assertion of the committee that they had evidence 
enough to hang him. 

The country, at the time, abounded with travelling 
foot-pedlars, mostly Germans and Italians, who imper- 
fectly spoke our language. They were inhumanly set 
upon by these human blood-hounds ; some were shot and 
found dead in the roads ; others were unceremoniously 
dragged before these committees, and ordered to leave 
the country. 

But these committees did not stop here; they pro- 
ceeded to assail the native white population when sus- 
pected of Unionism, robbing, torturing, shooting, hanging 
them without ceremony or form of trial. 



84 INAUGURATION OF THE 

At the firing on Fort Sumter, the sentiment of the 
non-slaveholding population was decidedly Union. But 
in one month's time, by such appliances of violence and 
cruelty, this sentiment was extensively suppressed ; the 
more easily, as the few had been wont to control the 
many, and the many were dependent on, and wont to 
cringe to the few. 

Such were the means first employed to secure uni- 
formity of opinion and action, and bring the entire 
people under the domination of those who had contem- 
plated and been devising, during thirty years, the dis- 
memberment of the Eepublic. 

The next step was the organization, by the Eebel Con- 
gress, of "Partisan Kangers," or legalized guerrillas. 
Every cut-throat scoundrel at once became emulous of 
the distinction and power and plunder which the com- 
mand of a guerrilla band would afford, and set to work 
to raise a company, battalion, or regiment, according to 
his means and capacity. Thus originated the military 
career of such monsters of cruelty and crime as Forrest, 
a notorious gambler and negro-trader of Memphis, Ten- 
nessee ; of John Morgan, another gambler, and a robber 
and libertine, of Louisville, Kentucky ; of Eoddy, Biffles, 
Champ Ferguson, Frank Gurley, Quantrell, and a host 
of others of like character. The primitive object of the 
organization of the " Partisan Kangers" was the suppres- 
sion of the Union sentiment of the southern portion of 
the country; and the narrative contained in the following 
pages of their bloody atrocities upon Union men, women, 
and children, in East Tennessee, Northern Alabama, 
Kentucky, and other states, shows how fully this design 
has been carried into execution. 



MURDER OF MARSHALL GLAZE, JR. 85 



MURDER OF MR. TURNER. 

A MOST brutal murder was committed upon a young 
man, named Turner, belonging to the Twenty-ninth 
Regiment Ohio Volunteers, on or about the 18th of July, 
1863, near Port Republic, Virginia, by a rebel cavalry 
officer. As young Turner was passing, he was ordered 
by the officer to halt, and did so, when the ruffian de- 
liberately drew out his revolver and shot him through 
the heart, cursing him for being a d — d Yankee. When 
asked by one of his own party why he had killed the 
young man, he said that too many of the d — d rascals 
are getting away, and he was determined that none he 
had anything to do with should escape. The above 
comes from a prisoner, who saw the deed committed.* 



MURDER OF MARSHALL GLAZE, JR., AND OTHERS. 

On Monday evening, September 18th, 1863, from 
twenty to thirty Rebels went to the house of an old gen 
tleman by the name of Marshall Glaze, on Spring Creek, 
Virginia, and brutally murdered John McMullen, Mar 
shall Glaze, Jr., and a Union soldier who had been 
stopping at the house for some days, waiting for his 
discharge, being so infirm that he could not proceed 
further. 

Marshall Glaze, Jr., and two oi three soldiers from the 
Ninth Virginia Regiment, who were on their way home, 
had been invited to stop for the night at the house. They 



* From Captain J. E. Johnson, of New York. 

8 



86 MURDER OF REV. JAMES WEBSTER. 

went to bed in some out-buildings. During the night, a 
party of rebels came to the dwelling and demanded to 
be informed where the soldiers were. Not being answered, 
the rebels by some other means discovered the place 
where they were asleep, and immediately rushed upon 
them, killing McMullen, the discharged soldier, and 
young Glaze ; at the first fire. The other three were 
fortunate enough to break through the ranks of the 
murderers, and succeeded in making their escape. 

The rebels then went to the house of Mr. W. ISToyes 
in the neighborhood, and attempted to persuade, and 
finally to force, a young girl (no doubt for an evil pur- 
pose) to go with them. On her refusal, they deliberately 
shot her, and she instantly expired.* 



MURDER OF REV. JAMES WEBSTER. 

Rev. James Webster, who owned and lived on a 
farm in Virginia, a thorough Union man, but very cautious 
in expressing his views in regard to secession, was one 
day, while in his barn alone thrashing wheat, surprised by 
seeing a gang of armed guerrillas enter. He asked them 
what they had come for ? They answered, for him ; that he 
was a Union man, and they knew it, and they were going 
to carry him to Richmond. He protested against this, 
and tried to reason the case with them; but without 
avail. They laid hands upon him, and forced him to go 
with them, not allowing him a change of clothing, 
although he begged that privilege. They drove him 
three days without giving him a morsel of food, so that 
he actually died of hunger and exhaustion.f 

* From Mr. McWhorter, member of the House of Delegates of West 
Virginia, in 1863. 
f From A. B. Hough, of Virginia. 



OUTRAGES IN NORTH CAROLINA. 87 



OUTRAGES ON UNION PEOPLE IN NORTH 
CAROLINA. 

In January, 1863, all the salt at Laurel Hill, North 
Carolina, near the Tennessee line, was taken possession 
of by the rebel authorities, and, in consequence, the salt 
in the region around of which they had not possession 
was selling at from seventy-five to one hundred dollars 
per sack. The commissioned officers of the rebel govern- 
ment declared that the Tories, a name they give to the 
Unionists in that portion of the country, should have 
none. They positively refused to give them the portion 
to which they were justly entitled when it was distributed. 
This outrage aroused the long-suppressed anger of the 
Union men, and they collected together and determined 
to take their portion of the salt by force if necessary. 
They proceeded to the place where it was kept (Marshall, 
North Carolina), and took what they considered their 
share. 

Shortly after, the Sixty-fifth North Carolina Regi- 
ment, under command of one Lieutenant-Colonel James 
Keith, was ordered to Laurel Hill to arrest the offenders. 
Samuel M. Allen was Colonel of the Sixty-fifth, but had 
been suspended for drunkenness, and therefore the com 
mand fell upon this Keith. 

Before the regiment arrived at Laurel Hill, those en- 
gaged in the salt seizure fled and were not to be found, 
and the innocent had to suffer in their stead. The fol- 
low ing persons were arrested: — Joseph Wood, about 
sixty years of age; David Shelton, forty-five; E. King, 
forty; H. Moore, forty; Wade Moore, thirty-five; Isaiah 
Shelton, fifteen ; Willie Shelton, twelve ; James Metcalf, 
ten ; Jasper Channel, fourteen ; Samuel Shelton, nineteen, 



88 OUTRAGES ON UNION PEOPLE 

and his brother, aged seven; in all, thirteen. All of 
them protested against being arrested, and declared that 
they were innocent, and begged for a trial, that they 
might prove their innocence. 

Colonel Allen, who was with the regiment, said they 
should have a trial, and they were going to take them to 
Tennessee for that purpose. 

They all started off, thinking that everything would 
soon be right, but had proceeded only a few miles when 
they were marched from the road to a gorge in the 
mountains. Halting here, five of them were ordered to 
kneel down. A file of soldiers was then placed in front 
of them with loaded muskets. 

The terrible reality now flashed upon their minds that 
they were about to be murdered. Old Mr. Wood ex- 
claimed, "For God's sake, men, you are not going to 
shoot us? If you are, give us at least time to pray.' 
Colonel Allen was reminded of his promise. They were 
told that he was not in command, had no authority to 
make such promises, and that there was no time to be 
lost in praying. The word was given to fire. The old 
man and boys put their hands to their faces, and rent the 
air with their agonizing cries of despair. The soldiers 
hesitated to obey the command. Keith told them if they 
did not fire he would make them change places with the 
prisoners. Again the order was given, and the five men 
fell pierced with bullets. 

Wood and Shelton were both shot through the head, 
and their brains scattered upon the ground. They died 
without a struggle. The others lived a few minutes. 
Five others were ordered to kneel down — with them 
little Willie Shelton, who said, "You shot my father in 
the face ; please do not shoot me in the face I" He covered 
his face with his hands, and the order of "Fire!" was 



IN NORTH CAROLINA. 89 

Five more fell. Poor little "Willie was 
wounded in both arms. He ran to the officer, and clasp- 
ing him around the legs, implored him to spare his life, 
saying, "You have killed my poor old father and my 
three brothers ! you have shot me in both arms ! I for- 
give you for all — I can get well again ; do let me go home 
to my mother and sisters!" What man, with a heart, 
could resist such an appeal ? But little Willie pleaded 
in vain. He was again dragged back to the place of 
execution, and again that terrible word "Fire!" was 
given. He fell dead, eight balls having penetrated his 
body. The remaining three were ordered to kneel down, 
and again the word "Fire!" was given, and they fell. 
Those in whom life was not entirely extinct were des- 
patched with pistols. 

The miscreants then dug a hole in the ground, and 
tossed the whole thirteen into it. Its depth was not suffi- 
cient, and some of the bodies of the murdered men lay 
above the ground. Sergeant N. B. Jay, a Virginian, but 
attached to this command, got up on the bleeding bodies 
and commencing to dance, cried out, "Some one pat 
Juba* for me, and I'll dance the d — d scoundrels down 
to and through hell." The grave was covered very 
lightly with earth. The next day the families of the 
murdered men heard of their fate, and search was made 
for their bodies. When the grave was found, the swine 
had rooted up one of the corpses, and partly devoured it. 

A portion of Keith's men went to Tennessee, and the 
others returned with Keith to Laurel Hill, and told the 
inhabitants that the murdered men were taken to Ten- 
nessee, to be tried in accordance with the pledge of Co- 
lonel Allen. 

By those who went to Tennessee many Union men 

* A negro song. 



90 OUTRAGES IN NORTH CAROLINA. 

were killed along the way. Those who returned with 
Keith to Laurel Hill began to torture the wives of loyal 
men, to force them to tell where their husbands had hid 
the salt. The women refused to disclose anything. Then 
the inhuman wretches gathered together some hickory 
switches, and commenced whipping them until the blood 
was seen to run down their persons upon the ground. 
Mrs. Sarah Shelton, wife of E. Shelton, who escaped 
from the town, and Mrs. Mary Shelton, wife of L. Shel- 
ton, were whipped and then hung by the neck until life 
was nearly extinct. When let down, ;md consciousness 
had returned, they still positively refused to give any 
information. Martha White, an idiotic girl, was taken 
out and whipped, and then tied to a tree by the neck, 
and left there all day. 

Old Mrs. Eunice Riddle, aged eighty-five years, was 
inhumanly whipped, hung, and then robbed of a con- 
siderable amount of money. A great many others were 
threatened with torture. The daughters of William Shel- 
ton were requested to sing and play for them. They 
sang and played the national airs of the Union. Keith, 
learning this, ordered the ladies to be arrested, and sent 
a guard to the house, where they remained all night. 

Mrs. Sallie Moore, aged seventy years, was whipped 
with hickory switches until the blood ran down from her 
back to the ground. 

One woman, name forgotten, who had a child five or 
six weeks old, was tied to a tree in the snow, and her 
child placed in the door in her sight, the villains telling 
her that, if she did not tell where the salt was hid, she 
and her child would be kept in that position until they 
both perished. Sergeant K B. D. Jay, of Captain Rey- 
nolds's company, and Lieutenant R. M. Deever, assisted 
their men in the perpetration of these outrages. Houses 



MURDER OF A CXSE-ARMED MAN. 91 

were burned over the heads of the Union people, and 
everything of value was stolen by these men. 

The perpetrators of these outrages were soldiers be- 
longing to the army of the Confederate States, and the 
men who commanded them were commissioned by the 
same government, and therefore the Confederate Gov- 
ernment had them in their control, and could have pun- 
ished them, if they did not sanction their acts; but the 
villains were looked upon as brave men for these acts of 
cruelty.* 



MURDER OF A ONE-ARMED MAN IN NORTH 
CAROLINA. 

By the battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania,' the rebels 
suffered such a defeat that the Unionists of the South, 
growing bold, began to speak their sentiments aloud, in 
opposition to the rebel government. Particularly was 
this the case in Central North Carolina, so that three 
regiments were sent from the rebel army to overawe the 
people and quell the disturbance. Many acts of cruelty 
were perpetrated by these soldiers, causing serious skir- 
mishes between them and those Unionists who were lucky 
enough to have arms, and several lives were lost on both 
sides. 

Among the most atrocious acts committed by these 
soldiers was that practised upon a young man in Ran- 
dolph county, who, by some accident, had lost one arm, 
and was therefore not subject to conscription. They 
went to his house, and, under the pretence of getting him 
to show them the way to a neighbor's, decoyed him into 
a piece of woodland, where they brutally shot him. 

* Colonel Crawford, Vice-President of the State Convention, held at 
Nashville, Tenn., 18G3. 



92 TREATMENT OF UNION SYMPATHIZERS. 

He was heard begging and imploring for his life at a 
great distance. His body was found three or four days 
afterwards, having from appearance received some seven 
or eight pistol-shots. 

From the marks of blood and the foot-prints, it ap- 
peared that they compelled him to run around them in a 
circle, shooting at him as he ran, trying to see how many 
times they could hit him without killing him. All this 
was done because he loved the Union* 



BARBAROUS TREATMENT OF UNION SYMPA- 
THIZERS IN THE REBEL ARMY. 

In the month of October, 1863, at Rapidan Station, 
four miles above Orange Court-House, Virginia, a young 
man belonging to Company B, Forty-fourth North Caro- 
Carolina Regiment (rebel), a Unionist, who had been 
conscripted, was inhumanly shot under the following 
circumstances : — 

Many of his regiment had deserted, and entered the 
lines of the Union army. Certain soldiers of other 
regiments, suspecting him to be a Union man at heart, 
to draw out his sentiments, told him that they would 
not belong to such a regiment, &c. At last, being 
irritated, he said " I don't care, if the whole regiment 
deserts." This was all they wished. They immediately 
reported his words to their officers, and he was arrested 
as a deserter, tried by a court-martial, and sentenced to be 
shot. He e7ideavored to explain in what manner he was 
constrained to use this language, and declared he had no 
thought of desertion. But they declined to listen to his 

* Bryan Tyson, author of the " Ray of Light." 



MURDER OF THREE BROTHERS. 93 

explanation, and ordered him to be put into confinement. 
The guard hurried him away, and in the course of a few- 
days he was carried out and shot. He met his fate like 
a brave man. 

Another soldier, belonging to a North Carolina 
brigade, was sentenced to death under similar circum- 
stances, and the authorities went so far as to tie him to a 
stake before they shot him.* 



MURDER OF THREE BROTHERS. 

In the summer of 1862, three young men, brothers, 
by the name of Anderson, not liking the way in which 
the Union men were treated in their vicinity, left their 
home, which was in Hawkins county, Tennessee, and 
attempted to make their way to the Union lines in Ken- 
tucky. They had reached Clinch river, about seventy- 
five miles above Knoxville, Tennessee, when they were 
surprised and captured by a band of Confederate cavalry, 
and inhumanly shot without mercy by their captors, 
who had been sent in pursuit of them. After killing 
them, they threw their bodies into the river, where, not 
long after, they were found, only fifteen miles from their 
desolate and forsaken home. The only reason assigned 
for this brutal murder was, that they were Union men, 
and were leaving the country .f 

* R. D Talley, Chatham Co., North Carolina. 

| Colonel R. Crawford, of Tennessee, one of the Vice Presidents of the 
State Convention, held in Nashville in 1863. 



94 ASSAULT ON MR. W. C. GRIER. 



ASSAULT ON MR. GRIER, A KENTUCKY STATE 
SENATOR. 

Cincinnati, October 8th, 1862. 

L. W. Hall, Kavenna, Portage Co., Ohio. 

Dear Sir : In great distress of mind, I will attempt to 
recount to you the misfortunes and troubles I have 
recently had to encounter in Kentucky. I am now a 
refugee. The torch of the incendiary rebels has been 
put to my mills, my store, and my dwelling. All is 
consumed ; the labor of nearly twenty years is destroyed. 
On last Wednesday night the rebel cavalry of John 
Morgan, to the number of eight hundred, encamped 
within two miles of my place. Through the whole night 
they were momentarily expected to come upon us ; every 
person left the road and hid in the woods ; I could not 
do so, my wife was so near her confinement ; my anxiety 
for her kept me near my dwelling. To allay her fears 
for my safety, I had to appear to be absent. Nothing 
occurred during the night. As the morning dawned, I 
went further from my house, and took a view of the 
premises and the roads leading to them. I could see no 
rebels ; and I determined to see my wife, let the conse- 
quences be what they might. As I was near my door,, 
eight rebels suddenly appeared before me, with their 
guns presented to my breast, and took me a prisoner. 
Soon the whole rebel band was upon me. Morgan cursed 
the men for taking me a prisoner, saying " that he had 
ordered them to shoot me down upon sight." He then 
opened my store door, and told his men to rifle and lire 
it. I implored him not to do it, as it was so near my 
dwelling that it would also be consumed. I informed 
him of the condition of my wife; for myseif I asked 



ASSAULT ON MR. W. C. GRIER. 95 

nothing ; but I begged him in common humanity not to 
destroy my wife and little children. He answered with 
a horrid oath that he intended to burn everything I had ; 
he would put fire to my house, and burn my wife and 
children up in it ; he would wipe out the whole Aboli- 
tion concern. This threat was applauded by many of 
his men, who said they went for killing men, women, 
and children. I was then placed upon a horse without 
a saddle, and conducted to the front of their column, and 
orders were again given to shoot me down if they were 
fired upon by bushwhackers, as they styled the Union 
men. I assured them that they would be fired upon if 
the people had any spirit, and I believed they had ; that 
when they saw the conflagration of their homes, they 
would way-lay and fire upon them, even if their number 
was ten times greater. After firing my property, he 
(Morgan) rode past me and said, pointing to the flames, 
" You find your loyalty to your Abolition Government 
pretty expensive, don't you?" 

Before we reached the woods, the captain of the men 
that took me prisoner, removed me from my position in 
the front, and placed me in his company near the rear. 
Immediately upon entering the woods they were fired 
upon. I was surprised that I was not shot. Morgan 
rode past and demanded the reason I was not shot, as 
he had ordered. They said they had not heard the order. 
He told them, if fired upon again, to shoot the prisoner. 
They then amused themselves by pointing their guns at 
me, and saying that they wished they might have the 
pleasure of shooting me. After some time we were 
ordered to advance, and were soon again fired upon. I 
heard the guns click behind me, and felt sure that my end 
was right then at hand. Their captain, John T. Williams, 
ordered them not to fire; he said that it was cold 



96 ASSAULT ON MR. W. C. GRIER. 

blooded murder ; that his men had taken me prisoner , 
that he was not yet mustered into the service, did not 
belong to General Morgan's command, and would not 
obey him in this, but would take me to West Liberty and 
put me in jail till further orders. This was some relief 
to me, you may be assured. Thus we proceeded for 
nearly twelve miles, my friends, the Unionists, emptying 
a saddle every five minutes, and my captors setting fire 
to every Union man's house as they went along. 

At last they commenced falling close around me, and 
my guardian friend, the captain, said he could not save me 
any longer. I soon took advantage of the excitement 
prevailing, jumped from my horse and fled to the woods, 
unobserved, and thus made my escape. I reached where 
had been my home at dark, and found my wife had been 
carried by some kind ladies to an unoccupied house, 
and a physician present who said he would stay with 
her. It was not more than twenty minutes till Morgan's 
guerrillas were again upon me. I escaped through the 
fields to the woods, making my way for Portsmouth, 
thirty-five miles distant, my nearest point of complete 
safety, where I arrived next morning without food, sleep, 
or rest. I immediately came to this city, where there 
was owing me seventy-five dollars, with which I will 
purchase a Ballard rifle, and return to the vicinity of my 
family ; hide in the woods and caves, and pick off every 
" Butternut" I see until I can get my family away to 
some place of security. 

Why is all this persecution of me ? It is because I con- 
demned this wicked rebellion ; urged a vigorous prose- 
cution of this war, and in my place in the Senate of Ken-, 
tucky, opposed the temporizing policy of my own party. 
For this I am burned and hunted out of Kentucky. 



OUTRAGES IN KENTUCKY. 97 

I am now unequivocally for confiscation, subjugation, 
extermination, hell and damnation. 

Yours respectfully, 
W. C. Grier. 



OUTRAGES ON THE PEOPLE IN THE MOUNTAIN 
DISTRICTS OF KENTUCKY. 

On the 12th of May, 1863, Colonel Gilbert started out 
with a detachment of the Forty -fourth Ohio Regiment, 
on an extensive reconnoissance from London, Kentucky, 
to ascertain the strength and situation of the numerous 
bands of guerrillas who were then prowling about that 
section of the country. He found them very numerous. 
They fled at the approach of the Forty-fourth, which 
followed in hot pursuit, but were unable to overtake 
them. 

His forces searched the country from London to Bar- 
boursville ; thence to Cumberland Ford, and along the 
Cumberland River from Williamsburg, south to Big 
Creek Gap. Detachments of Colonel Gilbert's men drove 
the rebel bands up Poor Fork to Yellow Creek, and also 
into the mountain wilds from Winchester up to the forks 
of Goose Creek. 

Colonel Gilbert's command cleared that portion of the 
country. The guerrillas seemed to have no taste for 
fighting, and fled in disorder whenever the Union sol- 
diers approached them. In the chase four or five were 
killed, and some sixteen taken prisoners. Colonel Gil- 
bert's command sustained no loss. The people were 
found to be very loyal. 

It was ascertained that the rebels were in the practice 
of inflicting all sorts of tortures to compel the women 
Q 



98 OUTRAGES IN KENTUCKY. 

and children to tell them where they had hidden their 
corn, &c. They forced the men into their ranks, divested 
the women and children of all their clothing, even taking 
their shoes from off their feet. 

Major Moore found near Eed Eiver two men, divested 
of everything but their pantaloons, and almost starved. 
Lieutenant Shaw and others saw similar instances of bar- 
barous treatment. 

These Unionists were first reduced to want by Morgan 
and his men, and afterwards pillaged by the rebel hordes 
who were driven out by Colonel Gilbert, until starvation 
or flight seemed to be the only alternative left them. 



DEPREDATIONS IN KENTUCKY BY HUMPHREY 
MARSHALL'S AND CLUKE'S MEN. 

Gray Hawk, Jackson County, Ky., 
April 13th, 1863 

Dear Sir : This leaves me lower in spirits than I have 
been since I have had a family. Some ten days ago, 
Cluke, with some five hundred men, came in through 
Proctor, in Owsley county, taking all the horses they 
could lay hands on. They came to my house, took a 
mule from me, and destroyed all the corn I had ; pas- 
tured on my wheat, and committed other depredations. 

On Tuesday, the 7th of this month, Humphrey Mar- 
shall's men, with the guerrilla band from Breathitt 
county, commenced coming into our county by Proctor, 
taking horses, cattle, and everything they could get hold 
of. They came on to Booneville ; burned the jail ; de- 
stroyed the records in the clerk's office; cut up the 
books and scattered them through the streets ; came to 



OUTRAGES IN KENTUCKY. 99 

my house, took every horse and mule I had, numbering 
thirteen. Among those aiding this work were Jack 
May, Jerry South's son, Win. P. Lacey, James Hurd, 
and Kobert Allen. They pursued my two oldest sons 
up the branch stream from my house, shooting at them 
until their ammunition was nearly expended. Lacy then 
charged upon my oldest son with his musket in hand, 
cursing him, and swearing he would hang him. My son 
drew his pistol, shot Lacy through the arm, and into his 
canteen. Lacy threw up his hand and halloed " Don't." 
My son fired again, hit Lacy under the ear, and dropped 
him from his horse, dead. The boys then, the musket- 
balls still flying around them, ran down a steep cliff, 
which the horses of the marauders could not descend, 
and made their escape into the woods. The rebels, set- 
ting fire to my buildings, burned up everything I had, 
leaving my wife and children with nothing but the 
clothes they had on. My wife got down on her knees to 
them, and offered them one thousand dollars in cash if 
they would not burn the dwelling. They would not 
hear her. She then tried to get the things out of the 
house, but they kept her off with their muskets. Some 
few things, which she did get out, were taken from her, 
consisting principally of thirty-three bed-blankets. The 
balance all went to the flames. I was in Jackson county 
at the time, and am still here. 

My wife is in a school-house below where my house 
stood, with my three youngest children. My two boys 
are hid in the mountains, with nothing to eat, wear, or 
sleep on, except what the neighbors furnish them. My 
wife is also dependent on the charity of the neighbors. 
Neither of us can get to see the other, as the rebels are 
still passing. Mine, I understand, was the seventeenth 
house they have burned on the route up as far as my 



100 MURDER OF JAMES M'CULLUM. 

place. I understand they have burned Clark's salt- 
works. How true tins is, J do not know. The damage 
reported to have been done so far up as rny house is cer- 
tainly true. My son came to me last night, and gave me 
all the particulars. 

I have begged and plead hard with the authorities be- 
low for help. One thing you know, and that is, the 
people here generally are so poor that they cannot get 
away, and if they could, how are they to subsist ? 

These counties that are suffering so much are the most 
loyal portion of the state. Clay, Owesley, and Jackson, 
which have furnished on an average five hundred volun- 
teers to the country, not one of whom is near enough to 
come to the rescue of their friends ; they are all at Vicks- 
burg, Murfreesboro, and other points out of the State. 

I have not seen my wife for some three weeks, and 
don't know what to do. "We have no meat or grain to 
live on here, and no horses or mules to take us away ; 
no means to buy with. All my papers, notes, accounts, 
deeds, and everything I had, are burned up, and I have 
not clothing even for a change. I am going to try to 
get through to my family to-night, if I can, and will in 
a few days decide what we will do. A number of fami 
lies must starve, if not soon rescued. 
Yours, truly, 

Abijah Gilbert. 



MURDER OF JAMES McCULLUM. 

On the 13th of February, 1863, a party of Confede- 
rate soldiers were sent with orders to conscript Mr. James 
McCullum, an honest, industrious, hard-working Union 
man, residing in Greene county, Tennessee. When they 



ATROCITIES OF CHAMP FURGUSON. 101 

arrived in sight of his house he was engaged in feeding 
cattle. Seeing their approach, and knowing their pur- 
pose, he thought to evade them, and ran towards the 
barn. One of the party, without hailing or stopping 
him, which could easily have been done, brutally shot 
him through the neck, killing him instantly. His three 
little children, who were standing near, seeing their 
father had been murdered, ran to their mother, who was 
in the house, and told her. She ran out, shrieking, and 
wringing her hands in anguish. Approaching the mon- 
sters, who were sitting on the fence laughing at her 
agony, she asked them why they had killed her husband ? 
They answered, "Because he was a d — d Tory!"* 



ATROCITIES OF CHAMP FURGUSON. 

The annals of no civilized, nor even savage warfare, 
could furnish, perhaps, a parallel to the crimes and bar- 
barities of Champ Furguson. He boasted of having 
killed fourteen men ; and there is no question of the 
truth of his assertion. Having by some means managed 
to get command of a party of ruffians in their raids upon 
theUnion citizens of Tennessee, which were very frequent, 
he and his gang captured John Williams, William Delk, 
John Crabtree, and a negro man, at Mrs. Alexander 
Hough's, in Fentress county. Tying them together, they 
drove them to the house of William Piles, on Wolf Run. 
On the way, the murderers gratified their savage propen- 
sities by cutting splinters of wood and thrusting them 
into the unfortunate men's flesh, and cutting them oft' 

* From Colonel Crawford, one of the Vice-Presidents of the State 
Convention held in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1863. 

9* 



102 ATROCITIES OF CHAMP FURGUSON. 

close tc> their bodies. And to cause the poor fellows to 
travel faster, they pitched their bowie-knives into them. 

After arriving at Piles's, the villains tortured them by 
piercing them with their bayonets, and cutting off pieces 
of flesh until life was nearly extinct. When they tired 
of this, Champ Furguson despatched William Delk by 
actually hacking him to pieces with his bowie-knife; 
and his comrades killed the others with their guns and 
pistols. They had stripped them after having arrived at 
Piles's house, and all these tortures were inflicted upon 
them in a state of nudity, in the presence of Piles's 
family. The posts and fence around the yard were 
smeared with blood, which was seen for weeks after, 
showing that they compelled their unfortunate victims 
to run around the yard while they prosecuted their 
murderous work. 

Thence Furguson went to Elam Huddleston's, a well- 
known Union man, who, seeing him coming, fled into his 
house and fastened the door ; but, after exchanging some 
twenty shots with Furguson and his bandits, was at last 
wounded and captured. 

Furguson immediately, with fiendish malignity, ripped 
Huddleston open, and then the savage brute cut his heart 
out, alleging as an excuse for his brutality that Huddle- 
ston was acting the 'possum. 

From this he went to the dwelling of a man named 
Eoclgers, whom he found sick in bed. He told Eodgers 
that he had come to kill him. His little son hearing this, 
dropped on his knees, and begged in the most piteous 
manner that he would not kill his father. 

His petition, which, one would think, might have 
moved the heart of any man, made no impression on 
such a brute as Furguson, and he levelled his gun and 
shot the sick man in his bed. 



ASSAULT ON TWO AGED MEN. 103 

The boy then began to cry aloud, when Furguson 
turned toward him with a pistol and shot him through 
the head, in the presence of the family. This child was 
but ten years of age. 

He then robbed them of an amount of money, took 
some horses, and left them to weep over their dead hus- 
band and father, sod, and brother.* 



ASSAULT ON TWO AGED UNION MEN IN EAST 

TENNESSEE. 

Washington, May 23d, 1864. 

Dear Sir : * * * * In the early part of March of this 
year, as our corps (the Ninth) was resting at Moose 
Creek, in East Tennessee, I stopped over night at a 
farm-house. In the evening the old man, speaking of 
the rebels and their cruelties, said to me, that they had 
burned one of his barns, driven off his cattle, burned his 
fences, and told him that if he made any fuss about it 
they would shoot him. One of the officers told his 
daughter, a young woman of eighteen, when she tried to 
save the barn, that if she did not keep quiet he would 
turn her over to his men. 

The old man told me that when our army retreated 
from Moose Creek, a few weeks before, the rebels tried 
to kill an aged neighbor of his, residing a short distance 
from his place. The next day I called on the neighbor, 
and found him in bed with his head bound up. With 
great difficulty could he speak. In the course of our 
conversation, he told me that when our army retreated 
from Moose Creek, a few weeks previous, the rebels 



* General J. B. Rodgers. 



104 ASSAULT ON MR. JOHNSON. 

<eame down from Morristown to his house, and dismount- 
ing, called him out of his house, and asked him several 
questions about the way our army had retreated; the 
number of men in our command; and if we had any 
artillery, &c. The old man endeavored to evade the 
questions. The officer seeing this, became excited, and 
insisted upon an answer. The old man becoming irri- 
tated, plainly told them that he would not give them any 
information. Hearing this, the officer drew his revolver 
and deliberately shot him in the mouth, evidently with 
the intention to kill him. The old man stated that for 
some days he was not expected to live. I have heard 
of a great many cases of rebel cruelties from my regi- 
mental commanders, but not having been able, through 
sickness, to join my regiment until the latter part of 
December, 1863, and not seeing them myself, I will not 
mention them. Your friend, &c. 

Alfred 0. Brooks, 
Late Captain Twenty-ninth Massachusetts Volunteers, 
Ninth Army Corps, U. S. A. 



ASSAULT UPON MR. JOHNSON, OF CLINTON 
COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 

Mr. Johnson, living in Clinton county, Tennessee, 
was brutally assailed by that blood-hound, Champ Fur- 
guson, on the day of the murder of Mr. Lewis Pierce. 
After Pierce had been killed, Champ and gang entered 
Mr. Johnson's house, cursing and yelling. Surrounding 
Mr. Johnson, they drew their pistols and knives to kill 
him, but his wife and daughter clung around him and 
pushed the villains off: when they made an attempt to 



MURDER OF JESSE BRIGHT. 103 

kill him, tliey kept them off until one of the gang, or 
some friend of Mr. Johnson, cried out that Captain 
Beckett's forces (United States) were coming. The 
cowardly miscreants hearing this, ran to their horses, 
and mounting them, galloped away as fast as their horses 
could carry them. The life of Mr. Johnson was saved. 
In a short time, however, the cowards sent word to Mr 
Johnson, that they intended to visit him again, and kill 
him and his family, for no d — d Yankee should live in 
the country. The cause of the would-be murder was, 
that Mr. Johnson was born in Connecticut. He was a 
quiet and good man, and was respected as such by all 
who knew him. He had lived in Clinton county many 
years. We mention this case, because it is the only one 
in the long catalogue that has escaped speedy death, 
when once caught by Furguson. We believe Mr. John- 
son has since moved his family North, and thus saved 
his life.* 



MURDER OF JESSE BRIGHT AND OTHERS. 

In the month of April, 1862, an old man named Jesse 
Bright, aged sixty years, with two sons and two nephews, 
living in Johnson county, Tennessee, were arrested by a 
company of Colonel Foulke's Cavalry, composed of 
Tennesseeans and North Carolinians, and carried off to 
be tried for disloyalty to the Confederacy. The old man 
had been arrested once before, taken to Knoxville, Ten* 
nessee, and tried, but no evidence being produced against 
him, they were compelled to release him. When tho 

* Dr. J. D. Hall, of Tennessee. 



106 SUFFERINGS IN EAST TENNESSEE. 

cavalry men arrived in Ash county with their prisoners, 
a groggery-keeper, no doubt a brother murderer, pro- 
posed to treat them to eight gallons of brandy if they 
would hang the old man, his sons and nephews, without 
a chance of a trial. They eagerly accepted the offer, and 
the five unfortunate men were hung to the first tree 
without further ceremony.* 



SUFFERINGS OF UNION MEN IN EAST 
TENNESSEE. 

During the early part of the year 1862, the rebel 
authorities of Knoxville, Tennessee, issued an order pro- 
hibiting all the Unionists from leaving that section of the 
State under penalty of death, shooting, bayoneting, and 
sabring all those who attempted to do so ; but promised 
a pardon to all those who had escaped, if they would 
return. 

Yet they sent to Mrs. Maynard, wife of the Hon. 
Horace Maynard, ex-member of Congress, a notice to 
leave her property and home in Knoxville within thirty- 
six hours, and not to return under severe penalty. The 
wife of the Hon. Andrew Johnson, then Military 
Governor of that State, very ill with consumption, re- 
ceived a similar notice. Mrs. Johnson had not seen her 
husband for nearly two years, and it was thought that 
she could not survive the execution of the order. 

* Colonel R. T. Crawford. 



HANGING OF MR. STUART. 107 



MURDER OF DR. RICE AND OTHERS. 

On the night of July 15th, 1862, Dr. Rice, Benjamin 
Daniels, and John Barnes, Union men, were brutally 
hung by a gang of guerrillas near Tennessee Ridge 
twenty-five miles from Nashville, for no other cause 
than that they had, a day or two before, allowed the men 
employed in erecting a telegraph line for the use of the 
United States army, to stay at their houses. 



HANGING OF MR. STEWART. 

The father of a family, named Stewart, residing near 
Robinson's Springs, Tennessee, among the Cumberland 
Mountains, was brutally murdered by a party of Con- 
federate soldiers. He. had served in the army of the 
United States under General Jackson, at New Orleans, in 
1814-15. 

On all occasions he was true to the Union — and to 
secession decidedly opposed. 

At the breaking out of the rebellion, he became a 
conspicuous object for the vengeance of the rebel leaders, 
although seventy-five years 'of age. He was soon waited 
upon by a deputation of these miscreants, and informed, 
that he must aid the rebellion. He frankly declared his 
unwillingness to break up a government under which he 
had so long and so happily lived ; but he would remain, 
at home and not molest any one in the enjoyment of his 
opinions. 

This declaration would not satisfy them, yet he was 
allowed to remain in quietness for a few days. One day, 



108 MURDER OF A WOMAN. 

however, as he was tottering through his yard, a squad 
of Confederate soldiers rode up, and one of them, Law- 
son Hill, told him " That he was a dangerous man ; and 
had harbored Union men." 

He declared that no one had been about his house for 
months, but his own family and their connections ; they 
maintained that they knew better, and required him to 
go some twenty miles to a place for trial. The old 
man told them, he was not able to do it, if it were to 
save his life. " Well," said one of them, Lawson Hill, 
" if you will not go to trial, we must try you ourselves, 
and, be sure, hang you, guilty or not guilty." After 
some further discussions, they told him " that it was the 
policy of the Confederates, to destroy the last Union man 
in the country." They then took this poor old man to 
an apple tree in his own yard, and hung him till he was 
dead, in the presence of his horror-stricken family. 
This man Hill was formerly a member of Congress 
from Tennessee, and glorified in the murder of a man of 
seventy-five years of age simply because he was a Union 
man.* 



MURDER OF A DERANGED WOMAN. 

In April, 1862, two rebel murderers in the garb of 
soldiers, named Wood and Ingersoll, went to the house 
of Mrs. Ruth A. Rhea, on Lick Creek, in Greene county, 
Tennessee, with the determination to conscript her son, 
her only support, she being partly deranged. As she 
saw them approaching the house, she seized a stick, and 
commanded them to leave the premises, and raised her 
stick to strike. One of them, well aware that she was 

* General J. B. Rodgers. 



ATTACK ON GENERAL RODGERS'S HOUSE. 109 

deranged, said he would run her through with his bayo- 
net. His threats were of no avail, for she instantly 
brought down the stick with all her force on his cow- 
ardly person. He proved his bravery by shooting her 
through the breast, killing her almost immediately, and 
then went off, rejoicing at having murdered a deranged 
woman, old enough to be his mother, leaving her body 
upon the ground, to be buried by her distressed son, 
when he might venture forth from his hiding-place. * 



ATTACK ON GENERAL J. B. RODGERS'S HOUSE. 

On the night of the 20th of September, 1863, three 
guerrillas came to the house of General John B. Rodgers, 
in Yan Buren county, Tennessee. 

Their names were French (raised in Warren county, 
son of Mason French), Lamb, and Hembree. They 
rushed into the house, and, with cocked pistols in their 
hands, demanded to know where General Rodgers was, 
for they had come, they said, to kill him that night. 

Mrs. Rodgers informed them that the general had been 
at home, but had remained there only four hours, and 
was then in Memphis. 

One of these abominable murderers swore that it was 
a lie ; that the general was concealed about the premises, 
and they intended to have him. They then searched the 
house, destroying everything in their way, like madmen, 
and causing consternation and terror to the family. 

The youngest son of the general, named William, took 
the hint, and concluded it was time for him to leave. 
Willie is only about twelve years of age ; but thinking 

* Colonel R. T. Crawford, of Tennessee. 
10 



110 MURDER OF MR. WOOD. 

that the boy would be a man some clay, and a Union 
man, one of them tried to shoot him. 

The child bounded out of the house, and fled in the 
darkness. One of the guerrillas followed in hot pursuit, 
still endeavoring to shoot him (a child twelve years of 
age). But little Willie knew the ground too well for 
the guerrilla. He made good his escape, and secreted 
himself in a clump of briars. His pursuer still pushed 
on, but finding his efforts vain, abandoned the chase as 
fruitless. As soon as the child found the way clear, he 
left his hiding-place and made for the woods, where he 
lay out in the wet and cold all night. The result was a 
serious cold. 

After these efforts, the bandits robbed the general's 
farm of the last horse and mule, and then betook them- 
selves to Mr. Isaiah Hatson's, whom they shot three times, 
killing him almost instantly. Thence they went to the 
house of Mr. Hunter, whom calling out on the piazza, 
they shot and instantly killed. They also shot his son 
at the same time, all for being Union men.* 



MURDER OF OLD MR. WOOD. 

On or about the 15th of January, 1862, Champ Fur 
guson, for some reason greatly exasperated, came to Al- 
bany, Kentucky, cursing all the Unionists in the place. 
He swore that he would kill some d — m Lincolnite before 
he left that night, and a horse he must have, he said, as 
the one he was riding was not good enough. Mr. D. 
Kozier, a citizen of Clifton county, having ridden a 
very fine one to Albany that day, left it standing fast- 

* S. C. Wilson, of Tennessee. 



MURDER OF MR. WOOD. Ill 

enecl in the road while he went into a friend's house to 
attend to some business. Champ seeing it, rode up and 
immediately appropriated it for his own use, at the same 
time asking to be shown the owner, as he wanted to put 
a ball through him, as a compensation, we suppose, for 
the horse. But Mr. Kozier, not wishing to receive such 
pay, and being unarmed, fled. 

Toward evening Champ left Albany, still swearing 
that he would kill some one that evening. On his way 
he passed the dwelling of Mr. Wood, who was standing 
in the door- way as the fiend came up ; drawing his pis- 
tol, he told Mr. "Wood that he had come to kill him. 
11 No, you won't," said Mr. Wood, u for I have trotted you 
on my knee many a time when you was a baby ; we 
have lived together since you were a child, and have 
always been good neighbors, and I never harmed you." 
M You are a d — d Lincolnite," cried Champ ; "you ran off 
your mules, and besides you packed the d — d Union 
flag at Camp Dick Eobinson" (Mr. Wood was a color- 
bearer in the Union army, but being too old he left the 
army). u I will kill you anyhow ;" suiting the action to 
the word, he fired, shooting the old man in the abdomen, 
who immediately fled into the house. Champ jumped 
from his horse, and followed the old man, still firing at 
him. Mr. Wood seeing this, seized a small hatchet, 
turned round, and struck Furguson a severe blow on the 
head, nearly stunning him, and would have killed him, 
had not one Philipot, who had come from Albany with 
Champ, interfered, threatening Mr. Wood with instant 
death if he struck another blow. The old man, seeing 
that he was deprived of the liberty of defending his life, 
ran up stairs. Mrs. Wood and her daughter, hearing the 
fracas, came to the rescue. Champ and his companion 



112 MURDER OF AN OLD MAN. 

seeing them coming, ran out of the house, and mounting 
their horses they made off. Mr. Wood's wound was so 
severe that he died next day.* 



MURDER OF AN OLD MAN AND HIS THREE SONS. 

In the latter part of September, 1863, a party of rebel 
bandits were prowling about the State of North Carolina, 
committing all sorts of depredations upon the Union 
people of the State. It was hinted by some one of the 
rebel sympathizers, that an old man and his three sons 
(name forgotten), living in Wilks county, were Unionists, 
and that it would be an act of patriotism to put them out 
of the way. Upon hearing this, the fiends started for 
the old man's house. Eushing into it, they seized the 
father and his three sons, before they could offer any re- 
sistance. The old man asked his captors why they had 
arrested them ? The reply was, " You are d — d Union 
traitors, and it is our business to see that such as you are 
put out of the way." They then hurried them off to the 
woods, a short distance from the house, and, without 
even the form of a trial, hung them to the trees border- 
ing the woods in sight of their home. "While this work 
of murder was going on, the fiends kept yelling like 
savages. After they were satisfied that life was extinct, 
they went off, leaving the bodies of the four unfortunate 
men hanging, to be buried by whomsoever it might 
concern.f 

* Dr. J. D. Hale, of Tennessee. 
f B. K. Tulley, North Carolina. 



MURDER OF PHILENEAS PLUMLEY. 113 



MURDER OF PHILENEAS PLUMLEY. 

Phileneas Plumley, living in Van Buren county, 

Tennessee, eight miles south of , was inhumanly 

robbed, and then murdered, by a gang of Confederate 
soldiers in the early part of 1863. Mr. Plumley was 
ex-sheriff of Yan Buren county, was an honest and re- 
spectable man, and had amassed a snug little fortune in 
property. He had just sold a large quantity of cotton, 
worth from six to eight thousand dollars, to Mr. Asa 
Faulkner. The rebels by some means learned this, and 
supposing he had received all the money, concluded to 
rob him. They went to his house, and not finding him 
there, they went to his father-in-law's, and arresting him, 
brought him back to his own house. They then de- 
manded his money. He gave them one thousand dollars, 
telling them that was all he had received for the cotton, 
and expected to get the balance in a few days. 

The disappointment so enraged the fiends that they 
drew out their pistols and fired, wounding him severely. 
Falling upon his knees, he begged them not to kill him. 
Dragging him into the yard, they finished their bloody 
work by firing five or six more balls into his body. 
Mr. Plumley was a quiet, inoffensive Union man, aged 
forty-five. He left a wife and seven little children (who 
all witnessed his murder) to mourn the loss of a good 
husband and father. Mr. Faulkner, hearing of the dis- 
tressed condition of Mr. Plumley's family, went and paid 
Mrs. Plumley the balance due on the cotton.* 

* General J. B. Rodgers. 



114 ATTACKS UPON J. J. PALMER'S HOUSE. 



ATTACKS UPON J. J. PALMER'S HOUSE. 

Headquarters, Seventh Tennessee Regiment, 
Fort Cliff, Scott County, Tennessee, July 28th, 1862. 

Lieut.-Colonel Hoagland : Dear Sir — Agreeably 
to your request, I hereby make a statement of three 
several attacks made upon me and my house. I have 
been residing during the past two and a half years in 
Khea county, Tennessee, on the stock-road leading from 
Kentucky to the Tennessee river. My native State is 
New York ; and the city of New York had been my 
place of residence for some twenty years previous to my 
coming to Tennessee. 

I was at my residence on the night of the 13th instant, 
when I was attacked by thirteen rebels, who shot at me 
three times, and hit me in the left arm with three balls. 
I then fired upon them with my Enfield, and ran them 
off. The following day, in my absence, nearly one hun- 
dred of the same gang came to my house, and commenced 
an indiscriminate plunder of my house and store, taking 
from three to four hundred dollars' worth of property 
from me. 

I was attacked again on the following Friday, by 
eighteen of the rebels. They were within twenty steps 
of the house when I discovered them. My wife was out- 
side, and running in, closed the door after her. She was 
then ordered by them to open the door, or they would 
shoot her. I seized my gun, and rushed to the door and 
threw it open, when one of them fired upon me, at a dis- 
tance not exceeding twelve feet, and I delivered my fire 
upon them, there being three of them in the yard. I 
then drew my navy- revolver, and ran into the yard and out 
to the gate, driving them all out of the yard. They fired 



OUTRAGES IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 115 

four or five times while I stood at the gate. I now had 
time to make good my retreat to the upper part of the 
house, where I had a fine opportunity to fire upon them 
and be safe myself. They .retired, as they supposed, to 
a safe distance, where they seemed disposed to remain, 
like a pack of hungry wolves ; but a few discharges from 
my Enfield at any of them that showed themselves, per- 
suaded them to leave for parts unknown. 

I received one shot in the left breast, and another in 
the right side ; one through the right arm, and another 
grazing it ; and one in the right foot. My wife received 
one shot in her left hip, which glanced upon a reed of 
her hoop-skirt and did but little damage ; another struck 
her right arm, doing little injury. I remained in the 
house and kept up a constant watch until night, when I 
made my escape to this camp. My family are now fugi- 
tives from home, and my property will be destroyed. 
They burst a cap at my wife on the 14th, when at their 
plunder, and struck her on the breast with the breech of 
a gun ; and burst one also at one of the girls living in 
my family on the day of the last attack. 

The rebels have reported three of their number dead, 
and I am credibly informed three others are wounded. 
Kespectfully submitted, 

J. J. Palmer. 



HORRIBLE OUTRAGES COMMITTED IN ALABAMA 
AND MISSISSIPPI. 

The greatest outrages imaginable were endured by 
the Unionists in North Alabama and Mississippi, in the 
latter part of 1862, and the early part of 1863. 

In Mississippi the rebels conscripted all the men that 



116 OUTRAGES IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 

they could find between the ages of eighteen and sixty. 
The arch-traitor, Jeff Davis, sent to the above-named 
State no less than one thousand commissioned officers to 
enforce the conscription. The Unionists, to avoid this, 
fled to the woods, and the fiends set blood-hounds upon 
their 1 racks, and by this inhuman mode captured a great 
many, some of whom were nearly torn to pieces by these 
dogs before their pursuers came up. 

In Alabama the conscription was prosecuted with still 
greater severity. During the latter part of 1862, a 
young girl, name forgotten, as she was passing through 
the woods in North Alabama, carrying food to her 
father, who had hid in a cave to escape conscription, was 
attacked by one of these blood-hounds, and literally torn 
to pieces. About the same time, two women who were 
making their way to Corinth, were overtaken by these 
dogs, near Tuscumbia, Franklin county, Alabama, and 
torn to pieces. 

Nearly one thousand of these down-trodden Union 
men escaped to Corinth, Mississippi, and were treated 
with great kindness by the commander of the post, 
General Dodge, who sent out detachments of men to 
assist those who were endeavoring to escape. Some of 
the families, which came in at the above-named place, 
were without food, and had scarcely enough clothing to 
hide their nakedness; some of the men were cripples, 
and others of them over eighty years of age. 

General Dodge established an encampment for these 
refugees at Purdy, where they were free from such per- 
secutions. Immediately after these refugees arrived, 
they set about forming a regiment, and it was not many 
weeks before it was full, ready and anxious for a fight. 
It was made up entirely of those who had suffered perse- 
cutions. They appointed Captain T. C. Cameron, then 
Provost-Marshal of Corinth, to be their Colonel. 



LETTER FROM GENERAL DODGE. 117 

The following is a copy of a letter from General 
Dodge to Captain Sawyer : — 

Head-Quarters, District of Corinth, Miss., 
January 24th, 18G3. 

Captain: I have the honor to submit a few of the 
outrages committed upon citizens of Alabama by the 
Confederate troops. While all their leaders, from the 
President down, are boasting of their carrying on this 
war in accordance with the laws that govern nations in 
such cases, I think a few simple facts might put them to 
the blush. I will state merely what I know to be true. 

Abe Canadi and Mr. Mitchell were hung, two weeks 
ago, for being Union men. They were on the Hackleboro 
Settlement, Marion county, Alabama. 

Mr. Halwork and his daughter, of the same county, 
were both shot for the same cause. The latter was 
instantly killed ; the former is still alive, but will pro- 
bably die. Peter Lewis and three of his neighbors were 
hunted down by one hundred blood-hounds and cap- 
tured. 

The houses of Messrs. Palmer, Welsby, "Williams, and 
the three Weitmans, were burned over their heads. The 
women and children were turned out of doors ; and the 
community was notified that if they allowed them to go 
into other houses, or fed or harbored them in any man- 
ner, they would be served the same. 

Mr. Peterson, living at the head of Bull Mountain, 
was shot. 

I am now feeding some one hundred of these families, 
who, with their women and children, some gray-haired 
men, and even cripples on crutches, were driven out, and 
found their way here through the woods, by byways, 
without food or shelter. All this was done for the 
simple reason that they were Union men, or that they 



118 HANGING OF JOHN W. BUCK. 

had brothers or relatives in our army. The statements 
of these people are almost beyond belief, did we not 
have the evidence before us. I am informed by them 
that there are hundreds of loyal men and women in the 
woods of Alabama, waiting an opportunity to escape. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

G. M. Dodge, 
Brigadier-General. 
To Captain E. M. Sawyek, 

A. A. Gen., Memphis, Tennessee. 



HANGING OF JOHN W. BUCK. 

Mr. John "W. Buck, of Holmes county, Mississippi, 
an honest and upright man, was inhumanly murdered 
by a party of men calling themselves guerrillas, in the 
early part of the year 1863. 

They were on his track several days, but by some 
means he managed to evade their vigilance. They were, 
however, determined to have him ; so they lay in am- 
bush, and when all was ready, rushed upon and captured 
him, and carrying him off to a safe distance, told him 
that they were going to hang him. He asked them to 
allow him a few moments to pray ; but they told him 
that they had not the time to wait for him, as they were 
in a hurry to finish the job ; and without further notice 
they deliberately hung him to a tree. 

This murder was committed for no other reasons than 
that Mr. Buck was a Union man, and had rendered his 
Government some important services in suppressing this 
wicked rebellion.* 

* Colonel Winslow and others. 



BUSHWHACKING IN MISSOURI. 119 



MURDER OF DR. ALYWARD. 

Stiles, Iowa, July 15th, 1862. 

Dear Sir : I hasten to give you the news of the death 
of Dr. William Aylward, who was hung on the 14th 
instant, some eight miles west of Memphis, in Scotland 
county, Missouri. A party of guerrillas under one 
Colonel Porter, surrounded the town on Sunday evening, 
the 14th instant, and, among the Union citizens taken, 
were Dr. Aylward and Captain William Dawson. After 
pillaging the town, they forced Dr. Aylward and Captain 
Dawson into a two-horse wagon and left town. When 
they had proceeded about eight miles, they hung Dr. 
Aylward from a limb of a tree and left him hanging. 
The fate of Captain Dawson is not yet known to his 
friends, but we suppose he has suffered the same fate. 

Yours, &c, 

K. C. Dougherty. 



BUSHWHACKING IN MISSOURI. 

The following is an extract from a letter of a Baptist 
minister, of Green county, Missouri. His name is with- 
held, because we have no authority to give it. But the 
statement may be relied on as being correct in every 
particular. 

u The bushwhackers are at work again, as I expected 
they would be, as soon as the spring (1862) opened, and 
the leaves would hide them, and they could find grass 
sufficient to feed their horses. Every few days we hear 
of some one being shot by these men from the bush. 
They made a raid in Cedar county, not long since, and 



120 OUTRAGES COMMITTED BY MOSEBY. 

killed some ten men, with most of whom I was ac- 
quainted. Seven of them were soldiers. They first 
stripped them of everything except their shirts, then 
placed them together, and shot them from behind, leav- 
ing their dead bodies on the ground. They then passed 
on to the north of Stockton, and brutally murdered two 
citizens. They then went to the house of Mr. 0. Smith, 
an old Baptist preacher, that I have known for nearly 
twenty years, and shot him, eighteen balls penetrating 
his body. They then robbed his dead body of three 
hundred dollars in money, and threw the empty purse 
in his wife's face. A party of them passed my house, 
not long since, going north, about fifty in all ; twenty 
taking one road and the rest another. This is the way 
they scatter about, seizing horses, robbing stores, &c, 
and coming together at appointed places. As they passed 
here they took horses from the place. They also stole 
the mail-carrier's horses in this raid." 



OUTRAGES COMMITTED BY MOSEBY. 

As a portion of the Wounded men and officers of the 
army of the Potomac, after the battle of the Wilderness, 
in Virginia, were being conveyed to "Washington from 
Belle Plain by the way of Culpepper, they were attacked 
by Moseby and his marauding bands, on the night of the 
11th of May, 1864. The train was composed of eighteen 
ambulances, our informant being in one of the foremost. 
Part of the train by some means got considerably in 
acKance of the other, and stopped to wait for those in the 
rear to close up. It was at this time that the cowardly 
villains rushed upon the hindmost train as it was passing 



OUTRAGES COMMITTED BY MOSEBY. 121 

a piece of woodland, yelling and firing at the sick and 
wounded, and tben in obedience to peremptory orders, the 
train immediately stopped. They then turned it into the 
woods, and robbed the wounded men and the drivers of 
all the valuables they had upon their persons. This done, 
they unhitched the horses from the ambulances, making 
the drivers prisoners. They went off, leaving the wounded 
men without help, and in a condition to starve or again 
be attacked by the straggling bands of guerrillas, who 
infested the country at that time. 

In a few moments they came down with a rush upon 
the foremost train, ordering it to halt, firing at them all 
the time, the balls riddling the ambulances. One of 
Moseby's officers rode up to where the Adjutant of the 
Twentieth Massachusetts Eegiment was, and ordered one 
of the drivers down from his seat on the ambulance. The 
Adjutant told the man to sit still. The fiend then fired 
upon the Adjutant, mortally wounding him. He has since 
died. The wounded were ordered to deliver up all their 
watches, money, and other valuables immediately, and if 
they did not do it, he would order his men to fire into 
them. Of course the devilish order was complied with. 
One of the drivers was inhumanly shot, and died instantly. 
Some of the wounded were shofr as they were lying in 
the ambulance, causing them to suffer more intensely, 
for serving the country they loved. 

This is only one of the many thousand of the damna- 
ble outrages, that have been committed by this rebel 
fiend within a few miles of the capital of our nation.* 



* From Major W. F. Draper, Thirty-sixth Regitngnt, Massachusetts 
Volunteers. 

11 



122 MURDER OF MR. M'KEES. 



FIENDISH ATROCITIES IN TEXAS.— MURDER OF 
MR. McKEES. 

"We give below the particulars of some of the horrid 
barbarities that have been inflicted upon innocent Union 
people by the desperadoes of Texas, as related by G. 
Wilson Plummer, a refugee from Orange, Texas, who 
was robbed of all he possessed. 

During the month of June, 1861, Jim Worsham, Ben 
Saxton, Charles Saxton, and Joe Jordan, all having been 
for years. notorious thieves and murderers, were engaged 
by a chivalric party of Secessionists to murder a Mr. 
McKees, a native of Canada, on account of his anti- 
slavery views. Mr. McKees was an educated man, and 
his parents having been people of means, sent him to a 
military academy in Canada, where he acquired a tho- 
rough knowledge of military tactics. 

Being of a roving disposition, he left home, and after 
taking a trip to China and Australia, he came to Texas 
in reduced circumstances. He was soon employed by 
John Livingston, a shipbuilder in the lower part of the 
town of Orange, upon the west bank of the Sabine river. 

The rebels of Orange, having learned accidentally, 
one day, that McKees understood military movements, 
applied to him in a body, and demanded that he should 
instruct them in the school of the soldier ; when McKees 
said that he could not spare the time, they insisted upon 
his teaching them, making use of threatening language. 

Finding resistance impossible, he yielded to their 
demands; but after drilling them six weeks, growing 
tired of the business, he was advised by his employer, 
Mr. John Livingston, to give it up, and devote his time 
to his trade, which was that of a ship-carpenter. 



MURDER OF MR. M'KEES. 123 

fie feigned sickness, and was relieved from auty by 
the rebels. Wishing to escape the fate which he saw 
awaited him (the rebels talking of appointing him their 
Captain), he soon recovered from his illness, and pre- 
tended to be a rabid Secessionist ; and in order to carry 
out his plans for an escape, said he was anxious to see 
some active service in the field, and intended to go to 
New Orleans, and join the Confederate army. 

In part remuneration for his past services as drill- 
master, the rebels had given him a fine horse, and watch- 
ing the most favorable opportunity, he mounted, one 
stormy night, and started for New Orleans. 

He had been gone but a few hours when they missed 
him, and upon finding the horse gone, some of the rebels 
started off at daylight on the following day, and with 
fearful imprecations upon their lips, swore if they caught 
the d — d Abolitionist, they would hang him on the first 
tree. At Lafayette, a small town in the western part of 
Louisiana, the ruffians overtook him, and conveyed him 
back to Orange, Texas, where they carried him before a 
civil court, on the charge of horse-stealing, accusing him 
of having stolen the identical horse they themselves had 
given him, in part payment for his services. 

The court returned a verdict of not guilty, and or- 
dered McKees to be discharged, as the evidence of intent 
to steal was not sufficient to warrant his committal. 'Die 
decision enraged the assassins, who were bent upon his 
destruction, and the mob seized him as he left the court- 
,oom, and conveyed him to an old barn, half a mile 
distant, where, after taunting him with all manner of 
insults about his views upon slavery, they stripped him 
and administered a coat of tar and feathers. 

Procuring a rail, they rode him into the town of 
Orange, followed by a brutal and insulting crowd, whom 



124 

they invited to shower insults of any kind upon the un- 
happy McKees. The rowdies spat tobacco juice in his 
eyes; and as they arrived in front of the bar-rooms, 
threw him violently on the ground for the amusement 
of the cruel and debased creatures who usually congre- 
gate about such places. After the mob had shouted 
their approbation, he was taken up and conveyed to the 
next shanty, where the same operation was performed. 
McKees fainted several times from complete prostration, 
and buckets of cold slops were thrown over him to 
restore consciousness. 

He begged them to kill him, rather than to torment 
him in such a manner. Tiring of this, they took him to 
an old shanty, and securing an old dirty negro, they 
made McKees shake hands with him, and then, amid 
the jeers of the crowd, told him " to take a drink with 
his old Uncle," and compelled him to drink " Old Abe 
Lincoln's health." After this, they seemed to be satis- 
fled with demoniac sport of this kind, and two of the 
ruffians prevailed upon the others to release him, on con- 
dition that if he was caught again attempting to escape, 
he should be hung. 

McKees was no sooner out of their clutches, than be 
fell into the hands of others of the same party, who 
heaped all sorts of indignities upon him in the street, 
and hired boys to pelt him with rotten eggs, and call 
him a negro-lover. Being hourly in fear of his life, he 
resolved upon another attempt to escape from his perse- 
cutors, and started on foot for the mountains, hoping to 
reach Mexico. 

When six miles from Orange, the excited band over- 
took him and completely surrounded him, and with cow- 
hides and pistols in hand, swore if he made any attempt 



125 

to escape, or offered any resistance, they would blow his 
brains out. 

Jim Worsham grabbed him by the throat, and ac- 
cused him of being a d — d miserable Abolitionist, while 
Joe Jordan applied the lash to his back, and whipped 
him till his strength was exhausted. McKees, who was 
now speechless, motioned to them to spare his life, as he 
saw Joe Jordan take from his coat-pocket a clothes-line, 
well knowing that they intended to hang him. The 
gang, which consisted of the two Saxton brothers, Jim 
Worsham, Joe Jordan, and three others, seized the 
defenceless man, and placing the rope around his neck, 
carried him across the road to a large tree, where they 
hun<^ him. 

The news was soon circulated throughout Orange that 
one d — d nigger-stealing Abolitionist was taken care of, 
and the citizens saw the fiend, Jim Worsham, parading 
in the bar-rooms, infuriated with liquor, swearing boast- 
ingly of what he and his confederates bad accomplished 
for Texas by ridding her soil of an Abolitionist, while 
on his back they recognised poor McKees's clothing. 

The next morning Mr. Hope Cooper, a farmer of Or- 
ange county, was driving to the town of Orange, when 
he was horrified at the sight of McKees's lifeless body 
suspended from a tree at the road-side. He drove back, 
and informed one of his neighbors, when they both re- 
turned and cut down the ghastly and terribly-mutilated 
form of the murdered man, and buried him in an adjoin- 
ing field. 

As soon as Jim Worsham, Joe Jordan, and their fol- 
lowers heard what Mr. Cooper had done, they swore with 
terrible oaths that they would cut the heart out of the 
Yankee sympathizer that had removed the body of an 
Abolitionist ; but Mr. Cooper and his neighbors were 
11* 



126 MURDER OF JAMES AND MARSHALL. 

cautious, when questioned about the body, to plead en- 
tire ignorance of the whole affair. 



MURDER OF MR. JAMES AND MR. MARSHALL. 

In" the month of August, 1861, a man by the name of 
James arrived in the town of Orange, from Galveston, 
and put up at King's Hotel. He reported, in the course 
of his conversation with a crowd in the bar-room of the 
house, that he had just arrived a few weeks previous at 
Galveston, from California. It is said that in the even- 
ing of the day of his arrival he was seen conversing 
with one or two negroes by Jim Worsham and his gang, 
who were lying in ambush for him. 

In his interview with the negroes, it is asserted that 
he told them his mission was to liberate them, and that 
if they would prepare themselves the next night, he 
would secrete them on board a small schooner which be- 
longed to him, and which was anchored in Sabine river, 
on the Louisiana side. One of the negroes to whom he 
revealed his plans, belonging to a Mr. Smith, a New- 
Yorker, who had been in Texas about a year and a half, 
went to his master and narrated the full particulars of 
the conversation that had taken place between Mr. James 
and himself, telling his master that James wanted to meet 
him (the slave) that night at twelve o'clock, and that he 
had promised to do so. Smith, upon learning this, deter- 
mined to ferret out the matter, and accordingly dressed 
himself in his slave's suit of clothes, and, blackening 
his face, sallied out at the appointed time to meet Mr. 
James. 

So complete was the disguise, that with the knowledge 



MURDER OF JAMES AND MARSHALL. 127 

obtained from the ignorant or treacherous negro, he suc- 
ceeded in drawing from his unsuspecting confidant the 
whole of his plans. Making an agreement to meet again, 
the supposed negro vanished. 

The next morning Smith reported to Charles Saxton, 
Jim Davis, and Jim Worsham what he had heard, and it 
was at once decided to take the life of Mr. James, who 
was expected to leave Orange that day. About nine 
o'clock Mr. James chartered a small boat, and hired a 
Mr. Marshall to row him across the Sabine river. 

Both James and Marshall were in the boat, and Mar- 
shall was standing up pushing off from the shore," when 
Jim Davis, a notorious thief, and his companions, came 
rushing down the bank. The boat was not more than a 
dozen yards from the bank when Davis aimed a revolver 
at Mr. James, exclaiming, with an oath. " You are a d — d 
Yankee scoundrel, that tried last night to entice our ne- 
groes away, and I am going to shoot you on the spot, 
you miserable thief I" Mr. Marshall stood in front of 
Mr. James, expostulating with Davis, telling him he was 
mistaken in the man, and begging him to spare Mr. 
James's life. This intervention aroused all the beastly 
fury of Davis, who swore he would kill both of them, 
and suiting the action to the word, he fired upon Mr. 
Marshall, who fell in the bottom of the boat, exclaiming 
" Great God, what have you done !" The ball entered 
the right breast, and passed nearly through the body. 

They then put out a small boat, and brought both 
James and Marshall to the shore, and securing James, 
they laid Marshall under an old shingle-shed, where the 
hideous monster, Charles Saxton, took out his jack-knife 
and began to probe the wound for the bullet, cursirg 
Marshall for groaning at the pain he was suffering. 

Marshall besought him to let him alone, and in the 



128 MURDER OF JAMES AND MARSHALL. 

name of God to send for his wife and children, that he 
might see them before he breathed his last. At first 
this request was refused, but after earnest entreaties the 
wretches granted the dying man's only wish ; and Mrs. 
Marshal^ with her family of five small children, arrived 
just in time to witness his dying struggle. 

Mrs, Marshall was so terribly stricken with grief at 
the loss of her husband that she survived his murder but 
ten days. Her babe of two years, and a bright little boy 
of six years, were laid at the side of their parents in two 
weeks after their death. Mr. Marshall was a native of 
the western part of Louisiana, a brickmaker by trade, 
and had always been respected as an honest and hard- 
working man. 

After these desperadoes had got rid of Marshall, they 
turned their whole attention to Mr. James. They carried 
him before the civil authorities, on the charge of enticing 
negroes to desert their masters. Jim Davis produced 
several letters, which were known by loyal witnesses to 
have been forged, and affirmed under oath, that they 
found these letters in Mr. James's coat-pocket. The testi- 
mony was so strong and conclusive, that he was found 
guilty, and the sentence of death was passed upon him 
early in the forenoon by the judge. At night a mob 
broke into the jail, and dragging Mr. James to the 
nearest tree, hung him on the spot. After the body had 
been suspended fifteen or twenty minutes, it was cut 
down, and eight or ten blood-thirsty fellows removed the 
corpse to the interior of the jail. In a few minutes Dr. 
Hudson of Orange, and another doctor of the same town, 
assisted by the crew, whose malicious perjury on the 
witness-stand had been the cause of the sentence, began 
to mutilate the body, and while doing so, gave vent to 
the most horrible sentiments. Dr. Hudson cut out the 



MURDER OF JAMES AND MARSHALL. 129 

heart, and placed it in a glass pickle jar filled with 
Louisiana whiskey, and this murdered man's heart has 
"been seen by various persons since his execution, and it 
can be seen to-day in the drug and paint store of Dr. 
Hudson in the town of Orange. After this, they 
actually tried out all the fat from the flesh, and 
divided it among eacft other for the oiling of their 
fire-arms. One of the doctors secured the head and 
carried it home, telling his wife to boil it till all the flesh 
should drop off, but the wife refused to have anything to 
do with it, and was horror-stricken at the barbarous 
sight. Her husband, however, compelled her to place 
the skull in a large copper-kettle, and boil it for several 
hours, when he took charge of it, told his wife that he 
had long desired an Abolitionist's skull for his study, and 
now he had got one. 

Charles Saxton, a notorious robber, gave a ball a week 
or two after the murder, in honor of the Vigilance Com- 
mittee, whose business was to clean out all anti-slavery 
people from Texas. He invited all the Secessionists of 
Orange, of both sexes, to the ball, and, as an inducement 
to attend the assembly, told them he would exhibit a 
genuine "Yankee skull." He had borrowed it from the 
doctor; and fastening it to a shelf, placed a candle in 
each eye-socket, and while most of the guests looked on 
with satisfaction to behold the Yankee head, he made 
the remark that "Yankee candlesticks were a decided 
improvement over the old-fashioned ones." The next 
morning Jim Davis and Saxton tied their pieces of 
mutilated flesh in a meal-bag, and threw them into the 
Sabine river, supposing that when the tide flowed they 
would float off, but they kept floating to and fro for two 
days, until Mr. George Kneeland, whose house was on 
the river-bank, went to Saxton and Davis, and told them 



130 MURDER OF JAMES AND -MARSHALL. 

if there was any law in the land, he would instantly 
prosecute them, if they did not remove the remains from 
the river and bury them properly. Fearing this threat 
from Kneeland, who is an earnest rebel, the scoundrels 
buried these portions of the body. 

To corroborate the above, I relate the following 
incident. Mrs. Freeland, a daughter of Eobert Jackson 
of Orange, one of the first Union families in Texas, was 
anxious to borrow or purchase a large-sized copper- 
kettle, for the purpose of making preserves. She was 
well acquainted with Mrs. Dr. Hudson, and knowing no- 
thing at that time of the dissecting of Mr. James's body 
by the doctor), visited her for the purpose of securing the 
kettle. 

While there, the conversation ran from one point to 
another, until the doctor's wife told how she was obliged 
to boil a human skull in one of her kettles, for her hus- 
band. Mrs. Freeland was horrified, and left the house. 

The following persons will vouch for the truth of the 
statement in relation to the murder of Mr. McKees, 
Mr. Marshall, and Mr. James, viz. : John Livingston, 
David Livingston, Samuel Livingston, ship-carpenters in 
Orange, Texas; Mrs. Nancy Jane Jackson, William 
Jackson her son ; Govviug Wilson Plummer, Mrs. Plum- 
mer, and Albert Plummer her son. Mr. Plummer is a 
New Englander, and was born in the town of Addison, 
Washington county, Maine. He has been for four years 
in the employ of the United States, as light-house 
keeper at the "Texas Light," on the east bank of Sabine 
Pass. N. Y. Y. 



MURDER OF CAPTAIN MONTGOMERY. 131 



MURDER OF CAPTAIN MONTGOMERY. 

On the evening of the 15th of March, 1863, Captain 
Montgomery was kidnapped and taken to Camp Bell, 
a rebel camp on the Rio river, in Texas, a short distance 
from the mouth of the river, where he was kept till the 
next day, during which time he was tantalized by those 
who had him in charge. He was told he was going to 
be hanged, and was asked, in a mocking manner, if he 
was not going to say his prayers. 

Next morning, about ten o'clock, he was taken a short 
distance above the camp, to a retired place on the river. 
A rope was tied about his neck, and he was commanded 
to tell what he knew about the Federal forces. He re- 
fused to disclose anything. He was suspended to a 
branch of a tree for some time, and when taken down, 
again required to communicate information ; he still 
refusing, and saying that, as they were going to hang 
him in any case, he should not make any disclosures. 
They repeated this operation four or five times, when he 
was hung up in earnest, and left by his murderers. 

He remained in that condition five days, when he was 
taken down by a friendly old Mexican and buried a few 
feet in the ground. The murderers afterwards removed 
the earth, saying he should be left exposed. The notori- 
ous Captain Bruin, a Southern traitor of Northern birth, 
commanded the hanging party, and for his bravery and 
chivalry in thus hanging a helpless and defenceless man, 
was at once promoted, and now rejoices in the title of 
Major Bruin.* 

* Colonel Jesse Stancel, First Texas Cavalry. 



132 CRUELTIES TO GERMANS. 



HORRIBLE CRUELTIES OF THE REBELS TO THE 
GERMANS IN TEXAS. 

In the month of May, 1861, a rebel command left the 
neighborhood of Austin, Texas, in order to break up 
and destroy a German settlement near El Paso, in Texas. 
It consisted of some two hundred and fifty souls. These 
Germans had sown and planted largely all kinds of 
grain. In addition, they had large flocks of sheep and 
herds of cattle ; also horses, mules, and swine, in great 
numbers. It was one of the most prosperous settlements 
in the State. They were known to be Union men with 
no possibility of an exception. 

Their fidelity to their adopted country enraged* the 
rebels, and on the 20th of the month some eighty or a 
hundred of these ruffians attacked the Germans, without 
the slightest provocation. 

An indiscriminate slaughter of men, women, and chil- 
dren was made. Out of the whole population it is not 
known that more than three persons ever escaped. 
Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, and loved ones, all 
constituted one heap of carnage. They actually mur- 
dered little innocent babes not one month old, and 
violated the chastity of women, and then pitilessly mur- 
dered them, both young and old. Many of the men they 
hung. After plundering the houses of all valuables, 
and taking whatever they wanted, they burned them. 
They drove off all the stock of every kind they could 
discover, and then returned with an air of triumph to 
their companions in guilt. 

This band of miscreants is said to have been under the 
command of two men by the names of Dibrell and Jen- 



BARBARITIES OF TEXAN RANGERS. 133 

kins, both of Tennessee. Dibrell has a brother com- 
manding a guerilla regiment of Tennessee troops.* 



BARBARITIES OF TEXAN RANGERS. 

Monterey, Mexico, November 4th, 18G2. 

Dear Friend : * * * * You can hardly imagine how 
the Union men are treated in Texas. They are hung on 
the slightest suspicion, by bodies of irresponsible men, 
who, were they in a country where law was respected, 
would not be allowed outside of a prison-yard. 

You have probably heard of the way that a small body 
of Union men were treated by a part of J. McDuff's 
company of Texas Eangers, at the head of the Nueces. 
I learn from a gentleman here who had a conversation 
with an officer who was present at the massacre, that 
twelve passports from provost-marshals of "Western 
Texas were found on the bodies of the Union men killed, 
by which they were allowed to pass freely over any part 
of the Texan frontier. 

After the affair on the Nueces, another party of twenty 
Germans were attacked on the Rio Grande, as they were 
preparing to cross it, by a large party of Rangers. They 
succeeded in killing a number of Rangers and driving 
them back, only having in the party one man slightly 
wounded. They immediately crossed the river, leaving 
their horses with the Texans, and throwing their guns 
into the water. 

We have here upon the frontier about one thousand 

* General Rodgers and General A. J. Hamilton's secretary. 

12 



134 MASSACRE AT BAXTER SPRINGS. 

Union men, who are only waiting for an invasion of 
Texas to get a chance to join the Union army. 
Yours truly, M. McKinney, 

U. S. Vice-Consul. 



MASSACRE AT BAXTER SPRINGS. 

Baxter Springs, 63 miles below Fort Scott, 
October 7th, 1863. 

Capts. Thalen and Losing- : * * * * When I wrote 
to Major Blair, last night, it was supposed that Major 
Curtis was a prisoner, as we had searched the ground 
over near where his horse fell and could not find him. 
Moreover, Quantrell's Adjutant, or a person representing 
himself as such, who came into Lieutenant Pond's com- 
pany with a flag of truce, said they had my Assistant 
Adjutant-General a prisoner. 

To-day he was found, near where he was thrown from 
his horse, shot through the head, evidently having been 
murdered after becoming a prisoner. I shall start his 
body, with that of Lieutenant Parr, to Fort Scott this 
evening. You probably will have heard some of the 
particulars of the affair which occurred here yesterday, 
before you receive this. 

The escort, Company I Third "Wisconsin, and Com- 
pany A Fourteenth Kansas, consisting of one hundred 
men, behaved disgracefully, and stampeded like a drove 
of frightened cattle. I did not anticipate any difficulty 
until we got below this point. We arrived near this 
camp about twelve o'clock, m., and halted on the hill, 
almost in sight of the camp, and not more than four hun- 
dred yards distant, to wait for the escort and wagons to 



MASSACRE AT BAXTER SPRINGS. 135 

close up. The escort came up and dismounted, to wait 
for the train, which was but a short distance behind. At 
this time my attention was called to a body of men, 
about one hundred in number, advancing in line from 
the timber of Spring river on the left, which you will 
recollect is not more than three or four hundred yards 
from the road. 

The left of the line was not more than two hundred 
yards from Lieutenant Pond's camp at the spring. They 
being nearly all dressed in Federal uniforms, I supposed 
them to be Lieutenant Pond's Cavalry (two companies), 
on service. At the same time my suspicions were aroused 
by some of their movements. I ordered the wagons 
which had come up to the rear, and found the escort in 
line with their carbines unslung, while I advanced alone 
toward the party fronting us, to ascertain if they were 
rebels. I had advanced but a short distance when they 
opened fire. At the same time firing was heard down 
in Pond's camp. Turning around to give the order to 
the escort to fire, I discovered them all broken up, and 
going over the prairie to the west at full speed. They 
did not discharge th'e loaded carbines which they had in 
their hands, except in a few cases. Had the escort stood 
their ground as soldiers should have done, they could 
have driven the enemy in ten minutes. I endeavored in 
vain, with the assistance of Major Curtis, to halt and 
form a portion of them. When the escort stampeded, 
the enemy discovering it rushed on with a yell, followed 
by another line of about two hundred, that emerged 
from the edge of the timber. Being better mounted 
than our men, they soon closed in on them. The men 
of the escort were much scattered, and with them it was 
a run for life. After going a mile, I succeeded in halt- 
ing fifteen men. including Lieutenant Pierce, Company 



136 MASSACRE AT BAXTER SPRINGS. 

A, Fourteenth Kansas, who has done his duty well and 
nobly throughout. 

As soon as I got them in line, and commenced ad- 
vancing on the pursuing enemy, they fled and fell back 
to the wood, when their whole command (six hundred) 
formed in line of battle. The balance of the escort that 
had escaped were all out of sight in the advance. Major 
Curtis had been seen to fall from his horse, which had 
been wounded, and stumbled in crossing a ditch. About 
one o'clock I sent Lieutenant Tappan, who had kept with 
me all the time, with four men to Fort Scott, while with 
the other nine I determined to remain until the fate of 
those that had fallen could be ascertained, and whether 
the post at the Spring had been captured, which I much 
feared had been the case. 

As they fell back to the road I followed them up over 
the ground we had passed, to look for the wounded, but 
all, with two or three exceptions, who had escaped acci- 
dentally, were killed, shot through the head. All the 
wounded had been murdered. I kept close to them, and 
witnessed their plundering the wagons. At one time 
they made a dash at me with about one hundred men, 
endeavoring to surround me, but failed in their purpose. 
As they moved off, on the road leading south, I went 
down to the Spring, and found our men all safe. 

Lieutenant Pond, of the Third Wisconsin, and his 
command, are entitled to great credit for the manner in 
which they repulsed the enemy and defended the post. 
The colored soldiers fought with great gallantry. The 
band-wagon was captured, and all the boys shot in the 
same way after they were prisoners. The same was 
the case with the teamsters, and Mart, my driver. O'Niel 
(artist for Frank Leslie) was killed with the band boys. 
The office clerks Avere all killed except one, also my or- 



MASSACRE AT BAXTER SPRINGS. 137 

derly, Ely. Major Ilenning is with me. But few of the 
escort, who escaped, have come in. I suppose they have 
gone to Fort Scott. The dead are not all buried, but I 
suppose the number will not fall short of seventy-five. 

The enemy numbered six hundred of Quantrell's and 
Coffey's commands. They are evidently intending to go 
south of the Arkansas. I have scouts on the trail. 
Two have just come in, and report coming up with 
them, at the crossing of the Neosho river. 

Others are still following them up. Whether they 
will go directly south, on the Fort Gibson road, across 
Grand river to Cowskin Prairie, I cannot determine. 

When they came in they crossed Spring river, close 
by Baxter. I have sent messengers to Arkansas river, 
and if they succeed in getting through safely, our forces 
there will be put on the alert, and may intercept them. 
J am now waiting the arrival of troops from Fort Scott. 
If I get them, which is doubtful, as the Fourteenth 
Kansas is not armed, I will follow the hounds through 
the entire Southern Confederacy as long as there is a 
prospect of overtaking them. And I will have it well 
understood that any man of this command, who again 
breaks from the line, and deserts his post, shall be shot 
on the spot ; and there shall be no quarter to the motley 
bands of murderers. 

I was fortunate in escaping, as in my efforts to halt 
and lally the men I frequently got in the rear, and be- 
came considerably mixed up with the rebels, who did 
not fail to pay me their compliments. Eevolver-bullets 
flew around my head as thick as hail — but not a scratch ! 

I believe I am not to be killed by a rebel bullet. 
Yours, truly, 

James G Blunt, 
Major-General of Volunteers. 



138 BARBARITY OF MISSOURI GUERRILLAS. 



MURDER OF A LAD, FOUNT ZACKERY. 

Champ Furguson and his ruffians had been rovutg 
over the country around Albany, Kentucky, shootiflg 
every person they saw who was suspected of being a 
Union man ; but this license was speedily checked by 
the suspected approach of a party of United States sol- 
diers, which caused Champ and gang to decamp faster 
than they had anticipated. As he was leaving, he told 
the inhabitants that he had killed four d — d Union 
men that day, and intended to kill more before he left 
the country. They searched over the town till night, and 
not finding any suspected Unionists, they left, taking the 
road toward Spring Creek. Upon their arrival, they 
met a lad named Fount Zackery. Champ riding up to 
him shot him, then jumping off his horse, drew out his 
famous knife, and cut the boy nearly in two, and taking 
the lad's horse started for Tennessee. This cruel murder 
was committed, because the boy had expressed himself 
in favor of the Union ; besides, Champ wished the hoise, 
and took this means of securing it. Young Zackery 
was an inoffensive boy, and was respected for his in- 
dustry and perseverance.* 



BARBARITY OF MISSOURI GUERRILLAS. 

Headquarters, Fifth Cavalry, Missouri State Militia, 
Independence, Missouri, January 11th, 1863. 

General Ben Logan, Jefferson City: Sir — Private 
Johnson, of the artillery company, was brought in 'dead 

* Doctor J. G. Hale, of Tennessee. 



OUTRAGES IN" EAST TENNESSEE. 139 

to-day ; he is tb , fifth one murdered last week, four from 
the infantry and one from the artillery. (You would not 
wonder why it is, that I write you that guerrillas' wives 
should be forced out of the country.) They were all 
wounded, and were killed afterwards in the most horrible 
manner that fiends could devise. All were shot in the 
head, and several of their faces are terribly cut to pieces 
with boot-heels. Powder was exploded in one man's 
ear, and both ears cut off close to his head. Whether 
this inhuman act was committed while he was alive or 
not, I have no means of knowing. To see human beings 
treated as my men have been, is more than I can bear. 

Ten of these men, armed as they are, with their wives 
and children to act as spies, are equal to twenty-five of 
mine. Guerrillas are threatening Union women in the 
country. I am arresting the wives and sisters of some of 
the most notorious ones, to prevent them from carrying 
their threats into execution. They have also levied an 
assessment upon the loyal men of the vicinity, and are 
collecting it very fast. Yours, &o. 

W. R. Penick, 
Colonel Fifth Cavalry, 

Missouri State Militia. 



OUTRAGES COMMITTED BY THE REBELS IN EAST 
TENNESSEE. 

East Tennessee, a region about equal in area and 
population to New Hampshire or Yermont, having few 
slaves and no aristocracy, presented an unyielding resist- 
ance to the madness of Secession. Even after the first 
battle of Bull Run, the State gave 32,923 for the Union 



L40 OUTRAGES IN EAST TENNESSEE. 

to 14,768 for Secession, a majority o" 18,155. This 
region of unconquerable loyalty, the rebels determined 
to dragoon into subjection. They left no means untried, 
and hesitated not to perpetrate the most' revolting bar- 
barities. A reign of terror was established, which in point 
of ferocity, has scarcely a parallel in ancient or modern 
times among civilized nations. The Union people were 
driven from their homes, hunted with blood -hounds like 
wild beasts, and shot down wherever found, without 
hesitancy or discrimination ; their houses were burned 
down over the heads of their families, and even the 
chastity of the women was disregarded. 

All this was done with the consent, if not by the 
direction of the rebel government. It grew naturally 
out of such atrocious orders as the following from J. P. 
Benjamin, rebel Secretary of War. 

War Department, Richmond, November 25th 1861. 

Sir : Your report of the 20th instant is received, and 
1 now proceed to give you the desired instructions in 
relation to prisoners taken by you among the traitors of 
East Tennessee. 

First. All such as can be identified in having been 
engaged in bridge burning, are to be tried summarily by 
drum-head court-martial, and if found guilty, executed 
on the spot by hanging. It would be well to leave 
their bodies hanging in the vicinity of the burnt 
bridges. 

Second. All such as have not been so engaged are to 
be treated as prisoners of war, and sent with an armed 
guard to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, there to be kept im- 
prisoned at the depot, selected by the government for 
prisoners of war. 

Whenever you can discover that arms are concen- 



OUTRAGES IN EAST TENNESSEE. Ill 

tratcd by these traitors, you will send out detachments, 
search for, and seize the arms. In no case, is one of 
the men known to have been in arms against the govern- 
ment, to be released on any pledge or oath of allegiance. 
The time for such measures is past. They are to be held as 
prisoners of war ; and held in jail till the end of the war. 
Such as come in voluntarily to take the oath of alle- 
giance, and surrender their arms, are alone to be treated 
with leniency. 

Your vigilant execution of these orders, is earnestly 
urged by the government. 

Your obedient servant, 

J. P. Benjamin, 

Secretary of War. 
Colonel W. B. Wood, 

Knoxville, Tennessee. 
P. S. — Judge Patterson, Colonel Pick ins, and other 
ringleaders of the same class, must be sent at once to 
Tuscaloosa to jail, as prisoners of war. Yours, &c. 

J. P. B. 

By the violence and outrages arising from such un 
limited orders as this, the Unionists of East Tennessee 
were placed in the most distressing circumstances, and 
forced to flee in every direction, seeking safety in the 
woods, caves, and mountain heights of that beautiful 
Switzerland of America. 

To them it seemed as though the Union army would 
never come to their rescue ; but although the night was 
long and dark, the day at last dawned, help and deliver- 
ance came, the old flag returned, and was hailed with 
acclamations of joy. 



142 MUKDER OF COLONEL M'COOK. 



MURDER OF COLONEL McCOOK. 

Extract of a letter written by a gentleman who was 
in Huntsville, Alabama, at the time of the murder of 
Colonel McCook. We vouch for its truthfulness. 

Huntsville, Alabama, August 8th, 1862. 

Dear Sir : Colonel McCook was murdered by the no- 
torious Frank Gurley, this morning. The facts of the 
case are these : — Colonel McCook was on his way with 
his brigade from Tuscumbia, Alabama, to Winchester, 
Tennessee, and being sick, was travelling in an ambu- 
lance, and was considerably in advance of his brigade, 
without a guard. When near Salem, Tennessee, he was 
surprised by a party of Gurley's men. The mules be- 
came frightened and started to run. Colonel McCook 
dropped on his knees, and seized the lines to help the 
driver hold them up, and was in this position when shot 
in the abdomen by Gurley, to whom he called out not 
to shoot, that he surrendered, and told him his name and 
rank ; but his appeals were not heard or heeded by the 
blood-thirsty wretch. After killing Colonel McCook, 
the guerrillas took the mules out of the ambulance and 
burned it, and made off with at least two of his staff, 
before the brigade arrived. This Frank Gurley has 
been, since the rebellion commenced, at the head of a 
gang of thieves and scoundrels, numbering about eighty, 
who have depredated upon scattered soldiers, and the 
Unionists in the neighborhood of Madison and Jackson 
counties, Tennessee, inflicting upon them the most cruel 
barbarities imaginable, when they knew they had the 
advantage on their own side. If this war ever ends, and 
finds such scoundrels as Gurley alive, let him atone at 
the end of the halter for his fiendish cruelties. 



MURDER OF COLONEL M'COOK. 143 

The following order, issued by General Eousseau im- 
mediately after the death of Colonel McCook, explains 
itself: — 

Head-Quarters, Third Division, 
Huntsville, Ala., August 8th, 1862. 

Special Orders, No. 54. — Almost every day murders 
are committed by lawless bands of robbers and mur 
derers, firing into railroad trains. To prevent this, oi 
to let the guilty suffer with the innocent, it is ordered 
that the preachers and leading men of the churches (not 
exceeding twelve in number), in and about Huntsville ; 
who have been active Secessionists, be arrested and kept 
in custody, and that one of them be detailed each day, 
and placed on board the train on the road running by 
way of Athens, and taken to Elk river and back, i& 
charge of a trusty soldier, who shall be armed, and not 
allow him to communicate with any person. 

When not on duty, these gentlemen shall be comfort- 
ably quartered in Huntsville, but not allowed to com- 
municate with any one, without leave from these Head- 
quarters. The soldiers detailed for guard of this charac 
ter will report to these Head-quarters for further instruc- 
tions, upon the day preceding their tour of duty, at three 
o'clock p. M. 

By command of 

Lovell H. Eousseau, 

Brigadier-Gen. Com'g. 

F. J. Jones, A. A. A. G. 

Who would ever have thought that it would have 
been necessary to issue such an order in this free and 
fair land of ours, and among those whom we supposed 
to be a civilized and intelligent people ? 

Yours, &c. D. H. Bingham. 



141 ASSAULT ON MR. YOUNG'S FAMILY. 



FIRING ON A HOSPITAL-BOAT. 

In the early part of July, 1863, as the hospital-boats 
belonging to General Curtis's command were passing 
down the Mississippi river, they were fired upon by a 
party of guerrillas upon the bank, who kept following it 
as they floated slowly down the river, discharging volley 
after volley upon the sick, wounded, and defenceless 
men who lay exposed to their murderous fire, expecting 
every minute to receive a fatal shot. The officer in 
charge of the boat shouted to them to stop, that it was a 
hospital-boat, and pointed to the yellow flag above him. 
They paid no attention to his appeal, but continued to 
fire, wounding a great many of the already sick and 
wounded. A captain on board was wounded seriously 
while pleading with them to stop. This outrage was 
continued until one of the Union gunboats came to their 
assistance. The gunboat fired a few well-directed shots 
at the cowardly miscreants, which caused them to de- 
camp faster than they had followed the boat. Thus 
ended the tragedy. The guerillas were commanded by 
a man who wore the uniform of a Confederate captain, 
but called himself a guerrilla, to vindicate the govern- 
ment whose orders he was carrying out.* 



ASSAULT ON THE FAMILY OF MR. JOHN YOUNG, 
AND HEROIC CONDUCT OF HIS DAUGHTERS. < 

Early in the progress of the rebellion, it was seen 
to be the policy of the leaders to overrun Tennessee with 

* From Dr. W. H. D. Williamson, of Southern Arkansas. 



ASSAULT ON MR. YOUNG'S FAMILY. 145 

an armed force drawn from Texas, Mississippi, and Loui- 
siana, under pretence of drilling the soldiers, and pro- 
tecting the citizens from depredations. The real purpose 
of the treacherous crew was to consume and destroy the 
available resources of the country, and to disarm its in- 
habitants of every means of defence. Robbery was their 
great aim ; and cruelty and oppression were the means 
by which they proposed to torture the peaceful inhabit- 
ants into submission. 

Every movement of the people was met with demon- 
strations calculated to excite terror and dismay ; every 
sentiment of attachment to the Union or the flag, was 
sought to be suppressed by the force of the bowie-knife 
and the bayonet. Violence was the order of the day, 
" Exterminate the Union men I" the watchword of the 
hour, with these marauding, murderous bands. 

One of these ruffian bands was stationed in Fentress 
county, Tennessee, a short distance from the residence 
of Mr. John Young, who was known to be a Union man, 
and one of the best citizens of the country. His course 
had been such as to win the esteem of the virtuous in 
his vicinity. Retiring, industrious, unobtrusive, and 
correct in his deportment, he was just such an individual 
as those miscreants deemed it necessary to visit with 
their deepest vengeance. His influence and example, they 
thought, might damage the rebel cause, and rebel wick- 
edness might labor under restraint extremely disagreeable 
to the rebel leaders in their deep guilt of treason and 
blood. Mr. Young was compelled to lie out in the woods 
and from his family, to avoid imminent danger of being 
arrested, and hung, or murdered in some other way. 

One evening, at twilight, a large rough soldier came 
to the dwelling where Mr. Young's family still resided, 
with pistol in hand, and a bowie-knife in his bosom. He 
13 



146 ASSAULT ON MR. YOUNG'S FAMILY. 

told Mrs. Young that he wanted lodging for the night. 
The lady remarked, having two grown daughters with 
her, that she was not in the habit of entertaining soldiers 
in the absence of her husband. 

The ruffian replied, that " By G-d he had come to 
stay, and he was going to stay, whether it suited her 
or not!" 

Mrs. Young then said, " If you are determined to stay, 
why ask me anything about it ?" And turning to one 
of her daughters, standing near, she directed her to go 
up-stairs and prepare a bed for the man. The daughter 
hastened up-stairs, and the soldier took his weapons in 
his hands and followed her. When he reached the room, 
he motioned the young lady to take one of the beds. She 
said "No." He said "He would see to that!" and ad 
vanced toward her. She, being a stout, vigorous woman, 
as he came to her, grasped him firmly by both his arms 
and screamed for help. 

Her sister, Miss Mary Young, who was still below, 
seized an axe which happened to be near and ran up to 
the rescue. Here she found her sister struggling with 
the infamous wretch, and still holding him with a firm 
grasp. 

This sister made one stroke at his head with the axe, 
and its keen edge fell just where the vertebras join the 
neck. The blow was as fatal as it was fortunate. It 
nearly severed the head from the body. The villain fell 
instantly on the floor, weltering in blood. 

Such was the recompense of brutal villany! Ven- 
geance was swift and sure.* 

* General J. B. Rodgers. 



MURDER OF DR. M'GLASSEN. 147 



MURDER OF DOCTOR WILLIAM McGLASSEN. 

In the early part of November, 1862, a party of rebels 
under that notorious scoundrel, John Morgan, attacked a 
small body of United States soldiers near Burksville, ' 
Cumberland county, Kentucky. During the engagement 
three Union citizens were captured, among them Dr. 
Wm. McGlassen. After securing the doctor, they rode 
off five or six miles, when they met Champ Furguson 
and his gang, who proposed to kill the doctor. Mor- 
gan's men assented, and offered their assistance. As 
soon as they had concluded in what manner the prisoner 
should die, a large number of the marauders dismounted 
and commenced walking about until they had left him 
by himself. This done, one of them rushed upon him, 
levelling his gun at the doctor, and bursting a cap, order- 
ing: him at the same time to run for his life. 

He started to run, but had hardly proceeded a dozen 
yards when the whole band fired about one hundred 
shots at him. The doctor kept running until he reached 
a deep gulley, into which, through weakness by loss of 
blood, he fell, when they rushed upon him, drawing their 
pistols, and discharged their contents at him, several of the 
shots taking effect in the body, and one or two hitting 
him in the head, killing him almost instantly. The 
fiends then commenced robbing the body. They took 
his watch, and what money he had. Not satisfied with 
this, lifting up his body, they took off his coat, panta- 
loons, and vest, and would have stripped his body of the 
last piece of clothing, had not some one of the murderers, 
who had a little humanity left, threatened to shoot them. 
Throwing the body down, they left it, to commit other 
depredations upon the Unionists in the surrounding 



148 FIRING ON U. S. BOATS. 

country. This Champ Furguson, in a speech delivered 
to his admirers at Sparta, Tennessee, in August, 1863, 
said: "I have killed sixteen Lincolnites, and intend to 
kill enough more to make it number twenty-five ; thei. I 
shall be ready to die." 

What became of the other two prisoners we are un- 
able to say, but hope they escaped. If not, they were, 
no doubt, treated in the same manner as Dr. McGlassen. 
None but the Almighty Ruler can number the many 
Unionists of the South who have fallen in this way ; and 
their bones are now left bleaching beneath a Southern 
sun, without a mark to tell to whom they belong.* 



FIRING ON UNITED STATES BOATS AFTER THE 
SURRENDER OF NATCHEZ. 

United States Flag Ship Hartford, 
Off Natchez, Mississippi, March 17th, 1863. 

Sir : I trust that it is unnecessary to remind you of 
my desire to avoid the necessity of punishing the inno- 
cent for the guilty, and to express to you the hope that 
the scene of firing on the United States boats will not 
be repeated by either the lawless people of Natchez, or 
by the guerrilla forces ; otherwise I shall be compelled 
to do the act most repugnant to my feelings, by firing on 
your town in defence of my people, and the honor of my 
flag. 

I should be most happy to see his honor the Mayor 
on board. 

"Very respectfully, 

D. G. Farragut, Rear Admiral. 
His Honor, the Mayor of Natchez, Mississippi. 

* Dr. J. D. Hale, of Tennessee. 



WILLIAMSBURG BARBARITIES. 149 



WILLIAMSBURG BARBARITIES. 

Shortly after the Eighth New York Regiment went 
into the battle of Williamsburg, Virginia, May 5th, 1862, 
Colonel Johnson, then commanding, was severely wound- 
ed, and taken off the field. The command then devolved 
on Major Reyson, who fell shortly after, pierced by three 
balls. The regiment was unable to carry him off the 
field. The next morning his body was found, stripped 
of all his clothing, and his head mutilated in a shocking 
manner, having been smashed with the butt of a musket, 
after death. 

Captain H. B. Riley, Company G, First Regiment Ex- 
celsior Brigade, who wore a bullet-proof breastplate 
during the engagement, fell, badly wounded in the face, 
and before he could be removed, the regiment to which 
he belonged was forced back. When it regained its 
former position, the captain was found dead, with three 
bayonet thrusts through his breast, and the bullet-proof 
plate stolen. He had evidently been bayoneted while 
lying a wounded and helpless prisoner. 

Orderly Sergeant Pease, Company E, First Regiment 
Excelsior Brigade, was slightly wounded, and taken pri- 
soner. At the evacuation of the place the rebels tied 
his hands together, then fastened him to the rear of an 
army wagon, and started for Richmond. In the retreat 
he came up with Lieutenant Wilson, Company F, First 
Regiment Excelsior Brigade, who was a prisoner and 
badly wounded, and, through loss of blood and pain, 
unable to walk farther. The unfeeling wretches who 
had him in charge bayoneted him, and brutally left him 
by the road-side, hoping that it would either kill him or 
cripple him for life. The Union scouts found him shortly 
afterwards in a deplorable condition, and unable to speak. 
13* 



150 FIRING ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN. 



FIRING ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN FOR CHEER- 
ING FOR THE OLD FLAG. 

United States Flag Ship Hartford, 
At anchor off the City of New Orleans, April 26th, 18G2. 

Sir: Upon my arrival before your city, I had the 
honor to send to your honor Captain Bailey, United 
States Navy, second in command of the expedition, to 
demand of you the surrender of New Orleans to me, as 
the representative of the Government of the United 
States. Captain Bailey reported to me the result of an 
interview with yourself and the military authorities. It 
must occur to your honor that it is not within the pro- 
vince of a naval officer to assume the duties of a military 
commandant. I came here to reduce New Orleans to 
obedience to the laws of, and to vindicate the offended 
majesty of the Government of the United States. The 
rights of persons and property shall be secure. I there- 
fore demand of you, as its representative, the unqualified 
surrender of the city, and that the emblem of sovereignty 
of the United States be hoisted over the City Hall, Mint, 
and Custom-House by meridian this day, and that all 
flags and other emblems of sovereignty, other than those 
of the United States, shall be removed from all the 
public buildings by that hour. I particularly request 
that you shall exercise your authority to quell disturb- 
ances, restore order, and call upon all the good people of 
New Orleans to return at once to their vocations ; and I 
particularly demand that no person shall be molested in 
person or property for professing sentiments of loyalty 
to their Government. I shall speedily and severely 
punish any person or persons who shall commit such 
outrages as were witnessed yesterday — armed men firing 



MURDER OF A GERMAN. 151 

upon helpless women and children for giving expression 
to their pleasure at witnessing the old flag. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

D. G. Farragut, 
Flag Officer, Western Gulf Squadron. 
His Excellency, 

The Mayor of the City of New Orleans. 



MURDER OF A GERMAN 



In" the month of August, 1860, whilst the steamship 
McKay was in port at New Orleans, a most inhuman 
murder was perpetrated by a mob, on a German pedlar. 
The German was on the street, with a small lot of pic- 
tures, neckties, trinkets, &c. A small boy, who was 
looking at them, noticed a picture of Mr. Lincoln, then 
a candidate for the Presidency of the United States. 
Seizing it, he threw it on the pavement, and abused the 
German for having it in his possession. 

A mob collected around the unfortunate man, and 
asked him what he was doing with the picture of Lin- 
coln, the Black Republican. The German did not under- 
stand the English language well enough to know what 
the crowd meant by their inquiries ; all he knew was 
that he had purchased the whole lot, with a little money 
he had with him, to sell again on a small profit. The 
mob could easily have inquired as to the truth of the 
matter, when the innocence of the German would have 
appeared. But this was too much trouble, or rather 
perhaps the truth was what they did not wish to know. 
It would have been an encumbrance on their consciences. 

They became so incensed at the unfortunate German, 



152 VIOLATION OF A FLAG OF TKUCE. 

for no other cause than that he was found in possession 
of a little photograph likeness of Mr. Lincoln, of whom, 
at that time, he must have had very little if any know- 
ledge, that they took his neckties out of his basket, and 
of them made a sort of rope, which they fastened around 
his neck, and attached to a lamp-post on the street. 
Then two ruthless miscreants seized the unfortunate 
man by the legs, and. jerked him so hard that they broke 
his neck, killing him instantly. His lifeless body was 
left hanging, as if it were an every-day occurrence.* 



VIOLATION OF A FLAG OF TRUCE. 

Above Sleepy-Hole, on the Nansemond river, April 
21st, 1863, about 11 o'clock, A.M., a white handkerchief 
was seen to be waved on the shore by a person in citizen's 
dress. Captain Harris, of the United States steamer 
Stepping-Stones, thinking the person to be Mr. Wilson, 
and wishing to gain information as to the state of the 
country, sent out a boat, containing five men, to bring 
him off. As soon as the boat reached the beach it was 
fired upon by a body of armed men concealed in the 
undergrowth. All in the boat were killed or captured. 
On the 22cl, W. B. Cushing, Lieutenant, and senior 
officer in the Nansemond, moved up from his anchorage, 
and, in company with the Yankee, anchored near the 
Stepping-Stones, and then proceeded at once to organize 
a boat expedition from three vessels to punish the 
rebels if they could be found. The boat sent the day 

* This statement -was given to the author by Mr. St. Clair, mate of 
the steamship McRay. 



FIRING UPON A BOAT'S CREW. 153 

before was found, together with four muskets, and the 
dead body of Eichard Eichchurch, seaman of the Min- 
nesota* 



FIRING UPON A BOAT'S CREW WITHOUT PRE- 
VIOUS SUMMONS TO SURRENDER. 

U. S. Steamer Pocahontas, 
Brunswick River, March 12th, 1864. 

Sir : I have to report that yesterday afternoon, having 
received permission to land near Brunswick, Georgia, 
and procure fresh beef for our crew, I took the second 
cutter, with ten men and a coxswain, and, with Acting- 
Paymaster Kitchen, landed at half-past three o'clock. 
Having accomplished our object, we left the shore about 
five o'clock P. M. on our return to the Pocahontas. ^As 
the men commenced to pull, and when we were about 
twenty yards from the beach, one musket was fired from 
a thicket, in the direction of the town. This appeared 
to be a signal, for almost simultaneously with the report 
a force of forty or fifty men showed themselves within 
the thicket, and fired a volley at our boat, killing two 
men, and wounding one seriously. 

In the confusion following this first fire, several of the 
men jumped overboard and clung to the gunwale of the 
boat. This, with the loss of the men first wounded, and 
two others seriously wounded by the fire of a second 
volley, diminished very materially the effective force for 
pulling, so that it was some time before we could in- 
crease our distance from the shore. However, as Pay- 

* See letter of W. B. dishing, senior officer in the Nansemond river, 
to Rear-Admiral S. P. Lee, dated April 23d, 1863. 



154 REBEL FEMALE DUPLICITY 

master Kitchen steered, and I pulled the stroke-oar, by 
great effort we were enabled gradually to work our way 
out into the stream, being all the time exposed to a galling 
fire. * * * * 

I would add, that their first volley was fired without 
hailing the boat ; but when they saw us still trying to 
pull from shore, one of them called out, "Surrender, 
you d — d sons of b — s !" But as they had already killed 
two men, and wounded others, I replied, "No, I won't 
surrender." 

While we were still within their range, you came up 
in the gig and took us in tow. On examining the men, 
I found two killed, three seriously wounded, and four 
slightly. 

A. C. Ehodes, 
To J. B. Balch, Assistant-Surgeon. 

Li£ut. Com. U. S. Steamer Pocahontas.* 



REBEL FEMALE DUPLICITY ENDING IN MURDER. 

There resided, some eight miles from Tullahoma in 
Tennessee, a fine-looking and rather preposessing woman, 
by the name of Cobb, who very frequently visited Tulla- 
homa, for the purpose apparently of selling fruit. With 
her Jezebel jokes, and Judas-like smiles, she soon formed 
an intimacy with two young men, belonging to the 
Eighth Ohio Battery. She told them, if they would 
pay a visit to where she lived, " she would treat them 
(it was in the month of September) to some delicious 
peaches and apples." The unsuspecting young " battery 
men" started from Tullahoma on the 17th, to visit Miss 



* Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1862, page 212. 



ENDING IN MURDER. 155 

Cobb, and have never since been beard of. A few days 
after, an officer and soldier, believing they could obtain 
some intelligence of tbeir friends, went in that direction 
in search of them, but could learn nothing of them, 
after visiting the place. The news soon got out from the 
Cobbs, of the two being in the neighborhood ; and some 
eight or ten men of the vicinage assembled, and captured 
the officer and soldier. After robbing them of their 
horses, guns, and money, they determined to kill them 
by shooting, and for this purpose placed the two against 
\ tree at a short distance, to be fired at by the marksmen. 
T.hey fired chiefly at the officer, killing him outright; 
but only slightly wounded the soldier, so that he made 
his escape, and, after rambling through the woods several 
days, found his way back to Tullahoma, and informed 
Colonel Collum, who at once sent out a sufficient scout, 
and picked up some eight or ten men of the vicinage, 
together with Miss Cobb and her mother, taking them 
all to Tullahoma. When they came into the presence 
of the wounded soldier, he readily identified five of 
them as being of the party. The mother and daughter 
denied all knowledge of the transaction. The daughter, 
however, was heard to say to her mother in an under 
tone, we had better tell all about it ; but the mother in- 
stantly ordered the daughter to be silent, and not speak 
one word. Colonel Collum ordered them to be sent to 
the Penitentiary at Nashville. On the night of the 19th 
of October, Company H, First Middle Tennessee Cavalry, 
caught Miss Cobb's two brothers, about one half mile 
from where she lived. From letters found on their per- 
sons, it appears they had been recently connected with 
Bragg's army. In all probability they were spies, doing 
all they could for the rebel cause. 

The Union men who had been compelled to fly from 



156 MURDER OF JOSEPH STOVER. 

and abandon their homes last summer by these same 
Cobbs, and others, and who now reside in Shelby ville, in- 
form me, that this Miss Cobb pursued the practice of 
enticing Union soldiers all last summer. 

The scouts brought in the remains of the murdered 
officer, and he was interred at Tullahoma ; but not one 
vestige of the two first soldiers could be found* 



MURDER OF JOSEPH STOVER. 

Immediately after the disbandment of the Home 
Guards of Fentress and Clifton counties, Tennessee, in 
1863, through the influence of the rebel citizens of the 
said counties (it is said that they were disbanded for 
the purpose of letting that notorious villain, Champ Fur- 
guson, commit his depredations upon the inoffensive 
citizens of that country), Joseph Stover, a private of the 
First Kentucky Cavalry, visited Wolf river on business. 
He had been there but a short time when he saw Champ 
Furguson and his gang of bandits, crossing at Eome's 
old mill. Mounting his horse, he endeavored to make 
his escape without being discovered, but the ever- watch- 
ful eye of that fiend saw him riding off, and he ordered 
his men to charge after and capture him. He made good 
his escape as far as Henry Johnson's residence, where 
he was overtaken and captured. Surrounding him, 
they shot at him several times, mortally wounding him, 
but this did not satisfy Champ's fiendish thirst for blood. 
Death did not come soon enough for him. Jumping 
from his horse, and drawing his knife, he ran it through 

* General J. B. Rodgers. 



SI GORDON. 157 

Stover's body, killing him instantly ; after which his 
companions in guilt kicked the lifeless body, and even 
went so far as to stamp on the head, and grind the face 
with their boot-heels.* 



SI GORDON. 



The Union citizens of Leavenworth county, Kansas, 
(the adjoining county to Platte county, Missouri, the only 
dividing line being the Missouri river), had been sub- 
jected to all sorts of inhuman outrages; murders and 
robberies being committed every day by a gang of mis- 
creants under one Si Gordon. General D. Hunter, in 
view of Gordon's success in evading the vigilance of the 
United States forces, which were sent out after him time 
and again, was led to inquire into the cause of it. He 
ascertained that the rebel sympathizers of Platte county 
were extending to Gordon all the aid in their power, 
by giving him information of the approach of the United 
States forces, and secreting him and his gang, whenever 
there was a chance of their being captured ; and know- 
ing that it would require a double force before he could 
capture him — one to guard the S} r mpathizers, and one 
to hunt up the marauders — he was compelled to issue the 
following retaliatory order, to effect the delivery of the 
said Si Gordon into his hands, before he committed any 
more of the fiendish murders of innocent people of 
Lawrence and the adjoining counties: — 

* Dr. J. D. Hale, of Tennessee. 

14 



158 MURDER OF MR. TABOR. 

Headquarters, Department of Kansas, 
Fort Leavenworth, December 1st, 1861. 

To the Trustees of Platte City, Platte County, Mo. 

Gentlemen : Having received reliable information of 
depredations, and outrages of every kind, committed by 
a man named Si Gordon, a leader of rebel marauding 
bands, I give you notice, that unless you seize and de- 
liver the said Gordon to me, at these Headquarters, 
within ten days from this date, or drive him out of the 
country, I shall send a force to your city, with orders to 
reduce it to ashes, and to burn the house of every Seces- 
sionist in your county, and to carry away every slave. 

Colonel Jennison's regiment will be intrusted with the 
execution of this order. 

The attention of the following persons is particularly 

directed to this notice. * * * * 

D. Hunter, 
Major-General Commanding. 



MURDER OF MR. TABOR. 



Mr. Tabor, living in Clinton county, Kentucky, about 
three miles above Albany, was brutally murdered by 
that notorious murderer, Champ Furguson, and his band 
of marauders. Mr. Tabor was a farmer, highly respected, 
and very frank, never attempting to conceal his senti- 
ments, and, in consequence, became obnoxious to his 
rebel neighbors. They frequently robbed him of what- 
ever they wished. On one occasion they stole from him 
a family of ten negroes, and running them off, sold them 
and appropriated the avails. 

In conversation one day, he expressed his willing- 



MURDER OF MR. TABOR. 159 

ness to shoulder a musket, if necessary, in defence of 
the Union. This getting, to the ears of the rebels, he 
was compelled, like many others, to leave home, and 
hide in the woods and caves to avoid being murdered. 
After being a fugitive from home several months, he 
learned that the Union troops had taken possession of 
Albany, and thought that he would venture to return 
home to see his family. Upon his arrival, one of his rebel 
neighbors, Durham Graham, notified Champ and his 
gang of Mr. Tabor's return. Mustering up courage, 
they started immediately upon their bloody mission, 
Graham accompanying them. 

Like a pack of thieves, they quietly stole up to his 
house, and rushing upon the old man, took him prisoner. 
His wife begged and pleaded with them not to kill her 
husband, but, if they were determined to kill him, she 
begged them to kill him at home, and not take him away 
and do it. The lying fiends assured her that they did 
not intend to kill him. They ordered the old man to get 
up behind Graham, the villain who had betrayed him. 
(This Graham had taken the oath of allegiance to the 
United States Government.) All being ready, they 
started down the lane leading from his house to the 
main road. They had not proceeded far, when Mr. Ta- 
bor was pushed violently from the horse. This was the 
signal for them to commence their bloody work. Champ 
and his gang, as soon as the old man's feet struck the 
ground, fired at him, until he fell pierced with bullets. 
The old man still surviving, Champ jumped from his 
horse, and drawing his knife, cut him until he was satis- 
fied that life was entirely extinct. 

Mounting his horse, he rode off with an air of tri- 
umph, leaving the body in the road, to be buried by his 
distressed family. 



160 FIRING ON DROWNING MEN. 

Mr. Tabor had four sons in the Union army, and that 
was the cause, with his being a Union man, the fiends 
had for murdering him.* 



FIRING ON DROWNING MEN. 

During the spirited engagement between the gun- 
boats Mound City, St. Louis, Lexington, and Conestoga, 
and the rebel batteries, at St. Charles, on the White 
river, a shot from one of the batteries penetrated the 
port casement of the Mound City, a little above and for- 
ward of the gunport, killing three men in its flight, and 
exploding her steam-drum. As a consequence, many of 
the crew leaped overboard, for whose rescue boats were 
immediately sent. But the rebels, instead of compas- 
sionating, and seeking to deliver, actually fired upon 
these scalded and drowning men, and those sent to their 
rescue, wounding many and killing others. 

Says Rear- Admiral C. H. Davis, then commanding the 
Western Flotilla, in his report of June 19th, 1862, to 
the Hon. Secretary of the Navy : 

" The victory at St. Charles, which has probably given 
us command of White river, and secured our connection 
with General Curtis, would be unalloyed with regret 
but for the fatal accident to the steam-drum and heater 
of the Mound City. 

u Of the crew, consisting of one hundred and seventy- 
five, officers and men, eighty -two have already died, forty- 
three were killed in the water or drowned, and twenty- 
five are severely wounded. 

* Dr. J. D. Hale, of Tennessee. 



MASSACRE IK TEXAS. 161 

"After the explosion took place the wounded men 
were shot by the enemy, while in th« water, and the 
boats of the Conestoga, Lexington, and St. Louis, which 
which went to the assistance of the scalded and drowning 
men of the Mound City, were fired into both with great 
guns and muskets, and were disabled, and one of them 
forced on shore to prevent sinking. 

"The department and the country will contrast these 
barbarities of a savage enemy with the humane efforts 
made by our own people to rescue the wounded and 
disabled, under similar circumstances, in the engagement 
of the 6th instant." 

In his report of June 18th he says : " Many must have 
been killed by the enemy while they were struggling in 
the water. I was close to the spot, and distinctly saw 
and remarked on the cowardly act, at the moment they 
were perpetrating it." 



MASSACRE OF AMERICANS AND GERMANS IN 
TEXAS. 

In" the latter part of 1862, a party of rebel murderers, 
commanded by that prince of fiends, Captain J. M. Duff, 
visited the counties of Keer, Gillespie, and Kendall, in 
Texas, having been ordered there by the rebel govern- 
ment to crush the Union sentiment that was known to 
exist there. As soon as he arrived with his command, 
which consisted of five hundred of the worst desperadoes 
that ever polluted the soil of Texas, he issued an order 
to confiscate all the property of every Union man in the 
above-named counties, who refused to take an oath to 
support the Confederate Government within ten days. 
He also ordered his men to take no Union man prisoner 
14* 



162 MASSACRE IN TEXAS 

who was found away from his home, but shoot him 
down on the spot. A few days after the above order 
was issued, some twelve or sixteen Unionists were hung. 
They begged for a trial, but he refused to hear their 
defence ; so they had to die without it. 

In a creek near the town of Fredericksburg, some 
Unionists found the bodies of four "men who had been 
drowned, each one having a large stone tied to his neck. 
It was believed that these men were drowned by order 
of Duff. After committing enough murders to satisfy 
his savage propensities, he started to break up a settle- 
ment of Americans and Germans, near Grand Cape, on 
Johnson's Creek, in the same State, which was known 
to the Confederate authorities to be strictly loyal. The 
settlers being informed that Duff was coming, gathered 
together a small force to stop his progress, and protect 
their families from such a vile scoundrel. For a while 
the settlers held them in check, but they were soon over- 
powered and forced to fly to the mountains for pro- 
tection. After having arrested all the men he could 
find, Duff started away with his command, pretending to 
go to Fredericksburg, but soon returned, expecting to 
find that the Unionists had come out of their hiding- 
places in the mountains and returned home. In this he 
was mistaken, for they were used to such tricks, and 
stayed away from the settlement. Duff finding this to 
be the case, commenced an indiscriminate plunder of 
every farm, running off the stock, destroying crops, and 
the like. He also burned a great many of the Unionists' 
houses, and arresting the families, sent them away as 
prisoners. The refugees learning this, concluded to fly 
to Mexico, as they knew it was the determination of 
Duff to hunt them up and murder them. As the fugitives 
were making their escape, they were joined by a great 



MASSACRE IN TEXAS. 163 

many others who were on the same errand, until their 
numbers were swollen to seventy. In consequence of 
the bad roads, their progress was slow, and before they 
reached the Rio Grande, they were overtaken by a party 
of two hundred rebel fiends, who were sent after them. 
The refugees made a desperate resistance, but the rebels 
were soon reinforced, and all excepting twelve were 
killed or captured. They who were captured were shot 
or murdered in some other way. Of the twelve who 
made their escape, only three ever reached Mexico. The 
other nine, covered with wounds, wandered about until 
they were captured, when they were immediately shot 
or hung. 

When Dr. Adolph Deval, the celebrated German 
traveller, heard of the above affair, he stated as follows : 
— " I know personally the most of these unfortunate 
victims who have been murdered so mercilessly, not 
because they rebelled against the Government, but be- 
cause they would not act against the Union, and would 
rather fly to Mexico. These murdered Union men were 
some of the greatest benefactors of the State. They had 
done the hardest pioneer work in it ; cleared it from the 
wild beasts and Indians ; they had saved it to civiliza- 
tion through more than one period of pestilence and 
famine, and had secured their present persecutors against 
the incursions of the Indians, and had done the best 
service as volunteers in the Mexican war, and the wars 
on the frontier. They placed the arts and sciences in 
Texas as well as they could be found anywhere among 
the American Germans. They furnished proof that they 
could cultivate sugar and cotton without the least damage 
to health, and increase the riches of the country many 
millions of dollars, and the foregoing sufferings are their 
reward."* 

* Colonel William McNair, of California. 



164 SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 

SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 

FROM AN EYE-WITNESS. 

Another chapter of the history of Lawrence has been 
written in blood. The world knu .vs, before these lines 
are traced, that the desperate guerrillas of our border 
have destroyed the far-famed and historic town of Law- 
rence. They accompanied the act with deeds of ferocity 
unexampled in the annals of human warfare. Sad is 
the thought to contemplate so dread a calamity as has 
befallen us ; but it is due to Kansas and the world that 
the history of this deep guilt should be told, and a record 
be made of these sad, sickening sufferings, which shall 
be engraven in the hearts of men for ever. 

It is further deemed important that this record should 
be detailed by some one whose fortune or misfortune it 
was to be a witness of this fearful tragedy ; and, lest no 
one else should undertake the task, I propose to make 
this record ; and I do not know in what shape I can bet- 
ter put it than in the form of a personal narrative of 
what I saw and heard. 

The narrative must commence with the attack itself; 
as the blow fell like a thunderbolt in a clear sky, with- 
out the least anticipation or warning. Fears had been 
previously entertained, but it was not considered possible 
that a hostile force could pierce the lines of General 
Ewing, avoid his scouts, and penetrate fifty miles into a 
populous region, and attack the third town in the State, 
without notice of the raid being given in season to pre- 
pare for defence. Hence, after attending public meeting 
on Thursday, the 20th of August, 1863, the citizens had 
retired to rest, undisturbed by presentiments or fears of 
the impending catastrophe. 



SACKING OF LAWRENCE , 165 

My own presence in the town at this precise juncture 
was an accident, and intended but for a day. Early on 
Friday, the morning after my arrival, I was awakened 
by a rapid and continuous discharge of fire-arms in the 
street. 

At first I failed entirely to realize the nature of this 
occurrence, and it was not till the sound of the shots, 
intermingled with shouts and yells, and the cry of 
" Hurrah for Quantrell I" swept through the air, that the 
drowsiness left my eyes, and I became aware that the 
guerrillas were upon us. 

The Kansas river here flows on the east and north side 
of the city, and the principal street (Massachusetts) runs 
at right angles with it, north and south. 

Upon this street, some forty rods from the river, stood 
the Eldridge House, a large and fine brick building, 
located on a corner, and facing the east and north. My 
room was on the third floor, looking toward the river, 
and on account of the heat of the weather both windows 
and curtains were open. 

I sprang from my bed on hearing the cries of M Quan- 
trell," and approached a window. The streets were filled 
with horsemen, dressed in the wildest fashion of the 
border, and armed to the teeth with carbines and re- 
volvers. They were riding to and fro, in all directions, 
yelling and whooping like so many demons, and appa- 
rently shooting down every man who appeared in sight. 

At the moment when I went to the window, one of 
these men, who seemed apparently to be scrutinizing the 
hotel, evidently espied me, for I heard him shout: 
"There's a man, G — d d — n him ! shoot him, G — d d — n 
him I shoot him I" I gave him no time for the execution 
of his kind purpose ; but that moment furnished me with 



166 SACKING OF LAWKENCE. 

a foretaste of the dreadful fate in store for the devoted 
town. 

At first I thought it a mere dash of a party of horse- 
thieves, and waited awhile, expecting to hear the sound 
recede, and to see the raiders disappear. I could not 
suppose the citizens so utterly unprepared for defence as 
to make the destruction of the town at all possible* 
After a few moments had passed without signs of a re- 
treat, I listened for sounds of resistance, but was rewarded 
only by the warning of the hotel gong, which was now 
rung loudly through all the halls of the building. 

I proceeded then to dress, stealing occasional glances 
into the street. These showed me men flying in terror, 
and pleading for mercy, but in every instance unhesi- 
tatingly shot down. One man rushed out upon the side- 
walk, on the east side of the street, apparently designing 
to cross, but a trooper riding past, wheeled his horse, 
and discharged his revolver full at his breast. The man 
threw up his arms and apparently implored quarter, but 
the only response made was curses and shots, repeated 
again and again ; under these he sunk to the ground, and 
probably died on the spot. . 

My own course was soon determined on. It was ap- 
parent that no resistance was being made to the attack, 
and I had no weapon whatever in my possession. To 
attempt to escape into the street, would clearly be mad- 
ness; the nearest approach to safety was to watch and 
wait. My pocket-book and watch I placed in my travel- 
ling-bag, and concealed the latter in my wash-stand, 
hoping that good fortune might enable me to carry it 
away, but satisfied that all valuables about the person 
must inevitably be lost. 

This done, I was prepared for any movement that 
mi^ht seem safest. Till I became satisfied that no effort 



SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 167 

was to be made for the defence of the house, I chose to 
remain in my room. 

This last hope was soon dissipated by the voice of the 
guerrillas in the halls. They were in possession of the 
building, and making an examination of the rooms. 
Twice the robbers passed my door and dealt upon it 
heavy blows, intending to break it in ; but, hoping that 
they would speedily abandon the building and fly, I 
made no movement to admit them. 

The third time, the door yielded, and I found myself 
face to face with a couple of the ruffians, one of whom 
presented his revolver, and demanded my surrender. 
This I unhesitatingly made, and stated that I was not a 
citizen of Lawrence, but simply there for a day, and 
hoped to be allowed to depart unmolested. My name 
and residence were demanded, as also whether I was not 
an officer of the Government. In regard to my money, 
I made an answer previously designated, and which I 
was sure would possess so much more plausibility than 
it did truth (I hoped to be pardoned for the immorality), 
as to defy disbelief. A moral lesson was inculcated, in 
which I was sincerely assured of protection in case of 
speaking the truth, but instant death, as a penalty for its 
i nfraction. 

One other instance of danger occurred, where a citizen, 
standing by, with the intention of doing me a service, 
vouched for my statement, by saying that he knew me, 
and that I was a " railroad man." " A railroad man [" 
exclaimed my captor, in a tone of menace ; " that is a 
damned sight worse than being an officer I" I ventured 
to differ from the flattering conclusion, and, after a mo- 
ment's hesitation on his part, was ordered to take my 
place with the prisoners, in the main hall, and wait 
orders. 



168 SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 

Here I found assembled nearly all the inmates of the 
hotel ; a promiscuous assemblage of men, women, and 
children, all waiting orders. All had dressed hurriedly, 
and with various degrees of success ; among the de- 
ficiencies being the boots of a Judge of the Supreme 
Court, who, like myself, had not been able as yet to re- 
cover them from the possession of the porter, to whom 
they had been delivered the evening before. Although 
we had with us some officers in the military service, none 
had the ill-fortune to be in uniform. The whole number 
congregated (it is only guesswork) might have been 
fifty ; quite possibly larger. 

On the broad landing of the stairs leading to the lower 
hall, stood a guard, whose business was, it seems, to 
prevent any of our party from going down. This man 
had not a bad countenance, and civilly answered such 
questions as the bolder of our company ventured to 
make. He informed us that Quantrell himself was in 
command of the expedition. 

The search of the house was soon over, and one by 
one, all the inmates who had lingered in their rooms 
were brought out and added to our company. 

We could hear a process of investigation and plunder 
going on, intermingled with oaths and threats, which are 
always so freely used in the discourse of rebel bush- 
whackers. No absolute violence, however, so far as I am 
aware, was offered in the hotel, excepting to a half-wit- 
ted man, Joseph Eldridge, brother of the owner, who 
was brutally shot, after his mental condition was made 
known to his murderers. 

Presently a bushwhacker came up the stairs, paused • 
upon the landing, and looked us over. It was Quantrell, 
the terror of the border, and a former citizen of the town. 
To some old acquaintances he spoke civilly enough, and 



SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 169 

with two or three of them shook hands, assuring us that 
we were entirely safe, and should receive complete pro- 
tection from personal violence. 

Quantrell would pass anywhere for a well -looking 
man, and exhibits in his countenance no traces of native 
ferocity. He is of medium height, well built, and very * 
quiet and very deliberate in speech and motion. His 
hair is brown, his complexion fresh ; and his cunning 
and pleasant blue eyes, and aquiline nose, gave to his 
countenance its chief expression. During the few mo- 
ments which he spent with us at this time, he conversed 
freely about himself and the present expedition, receiving 
with marked complacency some compliments on the 
completeness of his present success, and not hesitating 
to express his consciousness, that it was by far the 
greatest of his exploits. 

He desired to know whether Governor Carney was in the 
city, and finally left us, taking with him one of our party, 
to quiet some of his men whom he was about to send in 
search of " Jim Lane." 

Quantrell is a native of Ohio, and lived in Lawrence 
a few years since, under the assumed name of Charley 
Hart. He is said to have been, or pretended to be, a 
Free States man ; but after removing to the border coun- 
try, became noted as a thief, and finally emigrated to 
Missouri, to escape the consequences of numerous indict- 
ments found against him, in the different counties in 
which he had plied his lawless vocation. 

When the war broke out, his restless spirit and un- 
scrupulous disposition, forbade his remaining quiet, and 
as his reputation in Kansas made it impossible for him 
safely to join the United States service, whereby his 
propensities to steal would be limited, he at once, in the 
true mercenary style, took service with the less critical 
15 



170 SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 

rebels ; only preferring to operate independent^, rather 
than subject himself to the control of the Confederate 
organization. That he is naturally a great rascal, I do not 
doubt ; but that he is naturally cruel, I do not believe. 

The departure of Quantrell was succeeded by a brief 
period of suspense. He had given us reason to believe 
that he would not destroy the hotel, and we cherished 
the hope that a short time would witness the departure 
of the outlaws, without the perpetration of other serious 
damage. The interval of uncertainty, however, was 
employed by most, in making any necessary prepara- 
tions for possible departure. Some had succeeded in 
secreting money or valuables under the carpets, or in 
other places not likely to be examined ; and such now 
transferred them to their persons ; or committed them to 
safer custody of female friends. 

We were not long left in doubt, however, as to the 
intention of our captors. Quantrell soon reappeared ; aud- 
it became evident that he had resolved to destroy the 
town. He reassured us of personal protection, and di- 
rected us to leave the house and proceed under guard to 
some safe suburb. 

In contemplation of this, I had secured my boots, and 
placed my travelling-bag in a convenient spot, deter- 
mined to make an effort to save it. Believing that no 
further personal examination would occur, however, 
and knowing that my bag might be taken from me, I 
took out my money and watch and placed them in the 
pockets of a linen travelling-coat which I wore over my 
other. Thus prepared for the inevitable hegira, I joined 
the melancholy procession which filed down the stairs 
and into the street, and for the last time departed from 
the stately and historic Eldridge House, where I had so 



SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 171 

often found refuge from the discomforts of pioneer life, 
and shared the excitements of Kansas events. 

We descended the stone steps of the hotel, and crossed 
Massachusetts street diagonally into Winthrop toward 
the east. The shooting had pretty much ceased, for the 
reason that all straggling citizens were already killed or 
had fled; and the bushwhackers were now intent on 
plunder, setting fire to each building successively as 
soon as it had been rifled of its contents. 

The first sight which greeted us was the blazing livery- 
stable of the brothers Willis, from which their horses 
had already been taken by the thieves, and which insured 
the destruction of the office of the Lawrence Republican, 
to which it was contiguous. 

As our party moved along Winthrop street, shouting 
desperadoes crowded upon us, filling the air with curses 
and threats. When we arrived about opposite the office 
of the State Journal, one of them rode up on the right 
to the head of our column, and ordered out of the ranks 
a young man walking just in front of me, who carried in 
his hand a travelling-bag, and was evidently a stranger. 

"Here, step out here, you!" And when the young 
man obeyed : " G-d d — n you ! you are a red-leg !" 
And two successive shots from his revolver demonstrated 
the sincerity of his blood-thirsty design. A burst of 
horror and remonstrance rose from our whole party, and 
several of us rushed toward the infuriated wretch, be- 
seeching him not to m arder in cold blood an inoffensive 
stranger. 

Fortunately, almost miraculously, neither bullet had 
taken effect, except, as I afterwards saw, to cut slightly 
one leg of the victim's pantaloons. 

One of our guard, David Porter, whose name I desire 
to record, peremptorily commanded the desperado to stop 



172 SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 

firing, and to molest no one in this party, as they were 
promised protection by Quantrell. 

"D — n yon," was the reply, "I shan't obey yon, and 
I will shoot Qnantrell himself!" 

" G-d d — n you," replied Porter, " I am placed here to 
protect these prisoners, and I will do it !" And he added, 
presenting his revolver, " If yon shoot a man of them I 
will kill yon !" 

All this, which occupied but a minute of time, occur- 
red close behind one of the old circular earthworks of 
1855, built for the defence of the town, and now nearly 
level with the ground, being scarcely more than a ring 
of raised earth with a depression in the centre. 

The guard now ordered us into this place to remain, 
but Quantrell, whom we espied in front of the City Hotel 
(formerly Whitney House), between us and the river, was 
sent for, and speedily rode up. He said to us, briefly : 
" One man, Stone (landlord of the City Hotel), was kind 
to me years ago, when I lived here, and I have promised 
to protect him and his family, and house. All of you 
go over to the City Hotel, and go into it, and stay in it, 
and you will be safe. But don't attempt to go into the 
street." 

These few words brought us relief, hard to describe. 
We lost no time in following the direction given us, and 
were made welcome by the landlord to the shelter and 
protection of his house of refuge, where a number of 
fugitives were already congregated. 

An incident here occurred. When the flames burst 
from the windows of the Eldridge House, and the block 
of buildings of which it formed a part, an imperative 
duty now seemed to present itself to my mind. We had 
been told that Joseph Eldridge, before mentioned, was 
lying wounded in the cellar of the house. Now that the 



SACKING OF LA WHENCE. 173 

building was on fire, an effort must be made to save him. 
Mr. J. C. Horton and myself agreed to go over, if we 
could obtain a guard, and search for and bring him away. 
We stated the fact to one of our escort, named Ladd, 
who was sporting a captain's coat belonging to Captain 
Banks, Provost-Marshal of the State, and a prisoner with 
us ; and Ladd seemed not altogether unmoved by our 
representations. Mrs. Norton, wife of the landlord, also 
besought an effort for a babe in one of the chambers ; to 
which Ladd assented, till she thoughtlessly added, " It 
is a black babe ;" when he exclaimed brutally, " 0, it is 
a black baby ! d — n it, let it burn !" 

But he consented to aid us in rinding Eldridge, and we 
proceeded under his protection toward the burning build- 
ing. Having arrived near it, however, a glance showed 
us the utter impossibility of effecting our object. The 
flames had already made such progress as to render any 
attempt to approach the house an act of madness, and we 
sadly turned back and regained the protection of the City 
Hotel. I was glad to learn, later in the day, that Eldridge 
had in some way escaped from the building, and lived to 
receive attentions from his friends — which, however, 
were insufficient to preserve his life. 

Another incident, at that time somewhat serious, bur 
now amusing, occurred. On passing into the City Hotel, 
I was followed by one of the guard left by Quantrell to 
protect the building, who, after a very slight examination 
of the coat worn under my linen duster, communicated 
the fact to me, in confidence, that he must have it ! The 
information caused me considerable surprise, as I had 
flattered myself that we henceforth were to be .free from 
personal molestation. I saw, too, with regret, that my 
interlocutor had a decided distaste for argument, and was 
utterly insensible to the reasons I gave for objecting to 
15* 



174 SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 

comply with his summary demands : in fact, logic seemed 
to chafe his not pleasant spirit, and I finally resorted to a 
Yankee feat of a trade, and by a judicious practice of 
the best arts at my command, and an exercise of some 
good strategy in not revealing the fact that I had still 
about me some money for current expenses, I finally 
succeeded in compromising the case, by the payment of 
a greenback, representing ten dollars, current money ; 
and thus saved myself from all further annoyance of this 
description. 

This incident, however, greatly shocked a confidence 
which I was becoming ready to misplace in the abstract 
honor of rebel bushwackers, and I lost no time in trans- 
ferring my remaining funds to the possession of a lady 
friend, who kindly consented to hold it as a special de- 
posit, payable on demand. 

Nothing was stipulated in regard to interest, though I 
should have been poorly satisfied with myself bad I 
failed, in recovering my loan, to pay (when it is customary 
to receive) at a rate that would disturb the financial 
equipoise of any invested in Wall street. 

The City Hotel is a wooden parallelogram building, 
painted brown, and two stories in height, standing broad- 
side to the river, which runs in its rear. 

It is just opposite the ferry on the Leavenworth road, 
and in plain view of a squad of soldiers, about a dozen 
in number, stationed there to protect the timber on the 
railroad lands, and whose minie rifles effectually cov- 
ered the whole south bank of the stream and the houses 
standing upon it. Early in the day, these minie bullets 
had picked off two or three incautious bushwackers, and 
inspired a remarkable amount of subsequent caution. 

Now, as our guard occasionally passed out from the 
protection of the hotel, the whistling of a minie would 



SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 175 

be distinctly heard, till, at last yielding to tlie demands 
of our protectors, and fearing that a successful shot might 
so inflame the gang as to invite them to indiscriminate 
butchery, it was agreed to procure a cessation of the 
firing. 

Mr. Stone, the landlord, was asked to raise a flag of 
truce on his house, but the brave old man refused, saying 
he never had done such a thing, and he would not now 
begin. 

Finally his daughter, Miss Lydia Stone, not less brave, 
seized a white handkerchief, and ran down to the ferry, 
waving it as she went, and succeeded in making our 
friends on the other side understand that it was our 
safety that they should intermit their firing. 

Nothing remarkable whatever transpired till the de- 
parture of the gang. The whole length of Massachu- 
setts street was a mass of ruins, and numbers of our 
party were witnesses to the destruction of their stores 
and offices, while occasional explosions warned us that 
the flames had penetrated the deposits of powder kept 
for sale. The best dwellings, too, in various directions, 
were in flames, and it became evident that the terrible 
work of the raiders was about done. 

At length Quantrell appeared, and announced his de- 
parture at hand, promising to leave us our guard till his 
forces were all away. He then politely raised his hat to 
the ladies, and hoping that their next meeting might be 
under pleasant circumstances, bade them good-day, and 
rode off. Presently the whole party was seen filing out 
of the city, upon the road by which they entered. 

I saw them well advanced in the direction of Franklin, 
visible for the last time upon an elevation of ground 
about two miles from the place where we were. This must 
have been a ruse to deceive us as to his real course, for 



173 SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 

it is known that he went due south, striking across the 
Wakarusa bottom, crossing Benton's bridge, and making 
for the Santa Fe road. 

"We had yet to learn, notwithstanding the departure 
of the outlaw and his gang, that we had yet another 
chapter of terror to endure. Our guerrilla guards, one 
by one, left us, and we began to regard this latter move- 
ment as putting an end to our captivity and alarm. Pru- 
dence, however, dictated we should not scatter, but 
remain concentrated till every appearance of danger had 
vanished ; stragglers might yet be around ; and so it 
turned out. 

It was not long after the departure of the guard, when 
two of the infuriate ruffians returned, maddened by 
liquor, and rode up to the house, clearly intent upon the 
most fiendish mischief. None of us knew how many 
men might be behind, and there seemed to be no pru- 
dence in departing from the quiet course we had pre- 
viously pursued. We did not know then what afterwards 
became apparent, that they were especially exasperated 
at Mr. Stone and his family, for marks of favor bestowed 
by their chief, and held him responsible for cheating 
them of the wholesale vengeance they had intended to 
visit on every person in the place. 

One of them, too, was infuriated at Lydia Stone, be- 
cause Quantrell had obliged him to restore to her a ring, 
which she claimed as her property. After some brutal 
threats, an order was given that all the men and all the 
women should come out of the house and take position 
in separate rows ; the object being, as I now believe, to 
single out and shoot all the members of the Stone family 
first, and afterwards such others as fancy or chance 
should destine to death. Some were unwise enough to 
obey this order. Others of us judged it better to remain 



SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 177 

in the house, which afforded a partial shelter, and a plan 
was formed for seizing and detaining the ruffians, in case 
they dismounted and endeavored to enter, though not a 
man of us had any weapon ; still this would have been 
the safer course, had they given us the opportunity. 
But seeing that only a few were likely to leave the build- 
ing at their command, they commenced questioning those 
who were out as to name and residence. One, a stranger, 
replied that he was from Ohio. That was worse than 
Kansas, said one of the wretches, and immediately fired. 
The man shot had been wounded early in the day ; but 
I understand that neither wound proved dangerous. 

In the confusion that followed, several more shots 
were fired, two persons, I believe, being killed. Mr. 
Stone went boldly out to remonstrate on the shooting of 
the Ohio man, and was immediately shot in the abdomen, 
dying of the wound in two or three hours. A complete 
panic followed. 

It was believed, and I think correctly, that more of 
the gang were in the city, and it was expected that every 
moment would bring them up to join in an indiscriminate 
massacre of the men. No woman had yet been shot, 
though a pistol was aimed at Lydia Stone ; and the safest 
course by many was deemed to be, for the men to leave 
the house by the rear, which side the bushwhackers 
avoided from fear of the minie balls of our friends 
across the river. 

I was now satisfied that the main body of the gang 
had left town, and that the number remaining was not 
formidable, if we could obtain any arms. Seeing that 
all self-possession was gone (for the first time), I deter- 
mined, for myself, to seek the river bank, and get some 
sort of aid, I left the house, and ran to the bank above 



178 SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 

the ferry, where, to my surprise, I found General Deitz- 
ler, apparently on the same errand. 

He had made his home with Governor Eobinson, and 
was very weak from disease, but he seemed anxious to 
be of some service in the terrible ordeal through which 
we were passing, I stated the facts to him, and as the 
ferry-boat was now, for the first time, coming over the 
river, he shouted to the ferry-man to go back and get the 
soldiers on the north bank to come over and drive out 
the stragglers. The boat once started to turn back, but 
finally kept on its course. On learning that there were 
at the hotel but two of the ruffians, he said to me: M I 
have two revolvers at the house : if you will go with me 
and get them, we will each take one and try our chances." 
To this I agreed, and we started to go ; but on inquiring 
what house he meant, I understood it to be the residence 
of Governor Eobinson, on Mount Arrad, a mile distant, 
and assured him that we could not go and return in time 
to be of the least service. 

I afterwards learned that Governor Eobinson had 
removed to the city, and was occupying a house near 
the river, from which we might have procured the 
weapons, and probably reached the rear of the hotel 
unnoticed, and picked off the bushwhackers easily from 
the windows. 

It was not long till aid reached us. Seeing that the 
ferry-boat had reached the south bank, and was receiving 
on board such stragglers as had sought the landing, I 
conceived the idea of going over and procuring the 
soldiers to come across and drive the stragglers away. 
Arriving at the boat as it was putting off, I communi- 
cated my desire to such persons as I found there, and 
immediately on its landing, we represented the facts to 
the soldiers, freely using the name of General Deitzler 



SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 179 

and imparting his wish, to the same effect, in order to 
justify their going over. 

The officer in command was not present, and the brave 
boys were burning to go ; yet they feared to act without 
orders. But chivalry overcame discipline, and when the 
ferry-boat went back, it carried not only the soldiers 
(who, by the way, belonged to the Kansas Twelfth Kegi- 
ment), but also several Delaware Indian warriors, who 
had mustered with guns and bows and arrows, and a 
number of settlers on the Indian territory, in all perhaps 
twenty-five men. 

On gaining the south bank, the party moved in good 
order up the hill, and reached the scene of disaster, to 
give a parting shot at the flying scoundrels, perhaps a 
dozen, who ran at the appearance of armed men. 

No damage was done by the fire, but it is certain that 
of the two wretches who had paid the last visit to the 
City Hotel, one was caught by citizens, as he fled, and 
killed on the spot, and the other is reported to have been 
slain by the arrows of our Delaware warriors. 

I must briefly pass over the harrowing scenes that 
every part of Lawrence presented, as- I commenced a 
tour of inspection, in company with Captain Shannon, in 
order to assist, if necessary, in the care of the wounded. 

With the frantic cries of new-made widows and or- 
phans still ringing in my ears, and the remembrance of 
stark corpses, some naked, and some half consumed by 
fire, pictured eternally upon my brain, I have no heart 
to dwell on the horrible visions which that visit re- 
vealed. Of the wounded, we saw barely three ; of corpses, 
great numbers. 

The shots were mostly in the head or abdomen, all 
aimed to kill. In most instances, the fiends had made 



180 SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 

sure of their work, repeating the discharges if a doubt 
remained. 

Dead bodies were everywhere — some had been shot 
down as they left their houses, some as they fled along 
the street, some were followed into buildings and there 
dispatched. 

Several new recruits, sleeping on the plank side-walk, 
in front of their quarters, on account of the heat of the 
weather, were shot as they lay, when the gang first en- 
tered, and their half-consumed bodies still rested pre- 
cisely as they died. In some cases, the fires had simply 
burned off the clothing; in some, it had scorched the 
muscles into horrible distortions of the limbs ; in some, 
arms and legs were burned off, and only the ghastly 
trunk remained. 

We first entered a Methodist church, and found there 
two men wounded, Mr. Hoiks, with a fearful bullet-hole 
in the face, which Drs. Fuller and Cariff were endeavor- 
ing to probe, and Joseph Eldridge, before mentioned, 
also wounded in the face, and lying utterly insensible. 

Near by lay the corpses of James Eldridge and James 
Perrine, two mere boys, clerks in the store of Eldridge 
k Ford. Other bodies were being continually brought 
in. Women, angels of mercy, were already here, minis- 
tering to any want which appeared, and the few physi- 
cians in town were doing their utmost for the equally 
few wounded. Seeing that our services were not needed, 
we again sought the street. 

Such a sight, too horrid for language to describe, soon 
produced its natural effect; vengeance began to be 
breathed. 

Men on horseback, armed with guns and revolvers, 
had for some time been arriving from the country, ready 
for the infliction of punishment on the savage miscreants. 



SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 181 

Vengeance, blood, death, were the dooms breathed on 
the infamous traitors. A large number were assembled 
in Massachusetts street, in the south part of the town, 
busied in supplying themselves with ammunition, and 
waiting for some leader to whom to intrust the command. 
All the good horses in the stables the bushwhackers had 
taken, and all the good arms they could find ; generally 
turning loose their own jaded steeds on getting fresh 
ones. 

Hence many men, burning for action, had only guns 
but no horses ; and some had come in on horses, but 
were destitute of arms. In many cases, one of the men 
would take both horsB and gun and assume his place, 
ready for a start. It was pUtin, that the great want was 
a leader. 

Just then, a man on a sorrel horse dashed up, and rode 
to the front almost before he was recognised. But a 
glance was sufficient, for all were familiar with the 
sinewy form and swarthy linemen ts of the " grim chief- 
tain," and notwithstanding the bitter political animosity 
cherished against him in Lawrence by a large party, tho 
instantaneous shout of "Jim Lane !" reminded me of the 
old times, when he was the recognised chief of every 
enterprise of daring and audacity. 

Lane had been awakened very early, and as his house 
is in the western suburbs of the city, he had little diffi- 
culty in escaping to a convenient cornfield, before the 
raiders reached his house. 

So exasperated were they at losing so desirable a prize, 
that the miscreants at first proposed to shoot Mrs. Lane, 
instead of her husband. They then determined to kill his 
son, a boy of perhaps a dozen years. But even their 
ferocity was not quite sufficient for the cold-blooded 
16 



182 SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 

slaughter of women and children, and they finally plun- 
dered the house, applied the torch and rode off. 

I should judge that the bushwhackers had a start of 
about an hour and a half. As they killed, plundered, and 
burned as they went, their progress was slower than 
that of their pursuers. The chief want of the latter was 
ammunition, of which none was believed to have escaped 
destruction, though this belief, as it afterwards appeared, 
was erroneous. Some time would be lost on the road in 
endeavoring to get a supply. 

Lane's decisions were very prompt. Charging some 
of us with a few commissions to execute, the chief among 
which was the injunction to send after him every possible 
man, he gave the order to pursue, and dashed away, fol- 
lowed by perhaps a hundred and fifty of his hastily mus- 
tered forces. 

This number, of course, increased as he went. For 
the next hour, Captain Shannon and myself made it our 
business, to send after Lane every armed and mounted 
man, as fast as they appeared. 

For ourselves, being destitute of both arms and horses, 
this was the only service we found it possible to render. 
My next course was to get a means of conveyance back 
to Leavenworth, where I had intended to return on that 
day. Horses there were none in the place, and hours 
were consumed in vain, in endeavors to find some con- 
veyance to enable me to reach the above-mentioned 
locality. Finally, it was ascertained that all the horses 
of the stage company had escaped capture, the hostlers 
having, with commendable self-possession, turned them 
loose early in the morning. The astonished brutes had 
fled to the river bottom, and after the guerrillas had gone 
were easily captured and returned to their stalls. So 



SACKING OF LAWRENCE. ' 183 

finding a load in readiness, the driver, in the absence of 
the agent, agreed to take us over. 

We got some dinner at the City Hotel, the only one 
not burned, and in which lay the corpse of the brave 
landlord, whoFe previous kindness to Quantrell had been 
so serviceable to us, but had resulted so fatally to 
himself. 

His family should be the especial care of the people 
of Lawrence, and his daughter, Lydia, possess the ad- 
miration of all who esteem feminine graces joined to 
heroic courage. 

About four o'clock, we turned our backs again upon 
the ill-starred citadel of Kansas liberty, and bade adieu 
to its smouldering ruins, its unfortunate dead, and its 
scarcely less fortunate living. 

Early in the day, I estimated the number of dead 
at fifty, but later, I was satisfied that it must reach a 
hundred. At the time of my writing, it is said that 
even this number is too small. Scarcely a man of these 
was able to offer the least resistance ; so that the slaughter 
was simply premeditated and cold-blooded butchery. 

The negroes were marked as special victims, but 
their old schooling stood them in good stead. They are 
accustomed to being hunted down; and on the first 
alarm they fled to the cover of bushes, holes, and 
cornfields, and generally escaped. 

Even the servants of the Eldridge House found some 
means of egress and escape, and I think were nearly, if not 
quite all saved. A camp of colored recruits, I am told, 
located in the southern suburb, was early warned by the 
lieutenant in charge, and, with one exception, escaped to 
the woods in safety. 

Later in the day, the mourners went about the streets 



184 SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 

hunting and bewailing their dead, and inquiring for 
some new city of refuge. 

Ex-Governor Robinson, had risen early, as is his habit, 
and gone to his farm on Mount Arrad. He there saw tho 
entrance of the bushwackers, and was enabled to remain 
concealed. General Deitzler was a guest at his house 
near the river ; but the fact was unknown to the bandits. 
It is probable that his house owes its safety to the mi- 
nie rifles of the soldiers on the north bank, which covered 
it completely. General Deitzler would certainly have 
been shot, if taken, as would any man known to be a 
Federal officer. 

Quantrell stated to the Hon. E. S. Stevens, one of the 
Eldridge House prisoners, that his force was four hundred 
and fifty-three men. 

That this was false, I have no doubt, and I am satisfied 
that the whole number could not have exceeded two 
hundred. He also stated to different parties that his 
rendezvous on "Wednesday night, was five miles from 
the State line in Kansas, and that his force then scat 
tered, and came within fifteen miles of Lawrence, where 
they again rendezvoused, and rested till Monday morn- 
ing. From that point, he stated that he came to 
Lawrence, and entered the place in four columns, by as 
many different streets. Partly corroborative of this, I 
learn that parties coming to Lawrence from the Missouri 
line, on Thursday, report that they saw numerous horse- 
men, singly, and in parties of two or three, travelling in 
the same direction. They had no suspicion of a hostile 
movement. Quantrell boasted of having completely out- 
witted General Ewing, and seemed greatly pleased at his 
own strategy. 

That it was previously resolved to show no quarter, 
seems hardly probable from the facts, though it is cer- 



SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 185 

tain that it was determined to snoot down every man 
who was seen, previous to obtaining complete possession 
of the town. Had the gang entered the Eldridge House 
at once, making no conditions, it is my opinion that 
every man in it would have been shot, as soon as seen. 

But Quantrell could not believe that the building was 
entirely defenceless, and having no time nor artillery for 
a siege, and no wish to be shot from a window, he de- 
manded the surrender of the house. 

This was made by Provost-Marshal Banks, and the 
prisoners were promised protection. 

This promise, I think, Quantrell did all in his power 
to redeem. Individual instances of atrocity or clemency 
grew immediately out of the temper of each ruffian re- 
spectively. 

Messrs. Griswold, Trask, Thorpe, and Baker were 
called out of their houses, and promised protection, and 
then shot down in the street in the presence Of their 

families. On the other hand, the Rev. Mr. was not 

only spared, but was asked if he was not a Baptist mis- 
sionary preacher ; and on answering in the affirmative, 
was allowed to keep his money and one or two watches. 

This case differed widely from that of the Rev. Mr. 
Snyder, a Methodist preacher, who was murdered by the 
gang at his house as they first entered the town. 

Elias Loomis, a stage- driver, in compliance with the 
entreaties of his wife, was promised protection, and was 
told to bring from his house anything he chose before it 
was burned. As he turned to enter, he was shot twice, 
and falling into the cellar, was consumed by the fire. 

I was told by the wife of a prominent citizen, that she 
saw three men near her house attempt severally to es- 
cape, each having in his arms a child. All three were 
shot down, but the children escaped. 
16* 



186 SACKING OF LAWRENCE. 

The wife of one of the victims threw herself before 
him, and clasped him in her arms, but the fiends coolly 
fired over her head, and instantly killed him. 

Judge Carpenter, attempting to fly, was pursued and 
shot. His wife and sister strove to protect his body with 
their own, but the assassins placed the muzzles of their 
revolvers between the persons of the women and dis- 
charged the contents into Carpenter's head. 

Women were torn from their husbands, and the latter 
shot in their presence. The instances of utter inhu- 
manity and atrocity are sufficient to swell this narrative 
into a volume. 

The loss of life, contrary to the usual experiences in 
similar cases, was at first greatly under-estimated. As 
I close the narrative, I am informed by the Hon. M. J. 
Parrott, who went over as chairman of the relief com- 
mittee, on Friday night, and returned early on Sunday 
morning, that the number of corpses buried before he 
left was one hundred and eighteen. 

Undoubtedly, bodies will continue to be discovered, 
and I think it not unlikely, now, that the number will be 
swelled to one hundred and fifty. The loss in money and 
property has been estimated at two millions of dollars. 

Should that calculation at all follow the course of 
the loss of life, the sum will prove to be immensely 
greater. So far as its present business is concerned, 
Lawrence is as much destroyed as though an earthquake 
had buried it in ruins. It has left but a single small 
hotel, and one store, minus its entire stock of goods. 

All its mechanics' shops are gone, and the best of its 
dwellings. Not a newspaper office remains. Most of 
the leading citizens may be said to be financially ruined. 

Sympathy has been prompt and abundant. Imme- 
diately on the news reaching Leavenworth, eYery citizen 



MURDER OF MR. PIERCE. 187 

seemed to vie with his neighbor in giving substantial 
aid. Committees were appointed to proceed to the scene 
of disaster, and others to raise money in aid of the 
wounded. 

It is stated that ten thousand dollars have already been 
procured to supply the necessaries of life; and teams 
have immediately started over with food, medicines, 
clothing, and coffins. The chief Quartermaster at the 
Fort gave government transportation. 

Governor Carney issued a proclamation, and himself 
gave one thousand dollars in money. Mayor Anthony 
exerted himself to the utmost, officially and privately, 
in behalf of the sufferers. And the Hon. M. J. Parrott 
and A. C. Wilder went in person to render service. 
Sympathy and vengeance divided the public sentiment. 

Such was the catastrophe — such the wickedness — 
which was suddenly let loose upon the inhabitants of 
this defenceless and unprotected town. Man, when un- 
restrained by the ties of law or morality, is a monster 
of cruelty and injustice. 



MURDER OF MR. LEWIS PIERCE. 

Mr. Lewis Pierce, being sick, was stopping at Mr. 
Johnson's house, in Clinton county, Tennessee. He was 
so ill as to be scarcely able to leave his bed. One day, 
shortly after the Home Guards had been disbanded, hear- 
ing the tramp of horses, and the voices of men in the 
road, and suspecting that it was Champ Furguson — that 
cold-blooded murderer, and his band of assassins, who 
had come to take his life — as was natural, he endeavored 
to escape by getting out of bed and running from the 
house ; but being weak from sickness, he was soon over- 



188 VIOLATION OF A FLAG OF TRUCE. 

taken by Furguson, who ran him through with the knife 
presented to him by General Braxton Bragg (then com- 
manding that department), cutting him in a shocking 
manner. This not killing him instantly, two of Champ's 
imps of crime seized the poor man's legs, while a third, 
stepping up, drew his knife and commenced disembowel- 
ling their already dying victim. His entrails were then 
laid on a log, and the body thrown violently on the 
ground. 

While these fiends were carrying on this work of 
blood, Champ and his band applauded them for their 
bravery. Such is the manner in which the Union men 
of Tennessee were treated. It was worth the life of a 
man in many localities even to be suspected of being a 
Union man.* 



VIOLATION OF A FLAG OF TRUCE. 

On the 27th of March, 1863, as the United States 
bark Pursuit was lying off Gladsdin's Point, in Tampa 
Bay, Florida, on blockading duty, a smoke was disco- 
vered on the shore, and shortly afterwards three persons 
appeared on the beach waving a white flag. The com- 
mander of the Pursuit, Act. Vol. Lieutenant Kandall, 
supposing they wished to communicate with the Fleet, 
sent out a boat, in charge of Acting-Master H. K. Lap- 
ham, with a flag of truce flying. 

On the boat nearing the shore, two of the party were 
seen to be dressed in women's clothes, with their hands 
and faces blackened so as to represent negroes. One of 

* Dr. J. D. Hale, of Tennessee. 



PERSECUTION OF UNION MEN. 189 

them appeared to be overcome with joy, and exclaimed, 
" Thank God ! thank God ! I am free I" 

On the boat touching the shore, the female dresses 
were thrown off, and it became evident that their late 
wearers were white men, disguised for the purpose of 
decoying the boat on shore. Immediately after, about 
one hundred armed rebels rose from the bushes and de- 
manded the surrender of the boat ; which of course was 
refused, as they had come in answer to the flag. A 
volley of musketry was then fired into her, wounding 
the officer in charge, Acting-Master H. K. Lapham. As 
soon as those in the boat recovered from their surprise, 
they fired upon the miscreants, until the boat was out 
of range.* 



PERSECUTION OF UNION MEN IN THE SOUTH- 
WEST. 

At a meeting in the Cooper Institute, New York City, 
Saturday, October 25th, 1862, Rev. Mr. Aughey, of Mis- 
sissippi, delivered an address, condemning the course that 
the South had taken in the rebellion. He stated that the 
Union men were treated in the most cruel manner. 
Speaking of the sufferings that he had endured, he said : 
" I was seized by the rebels, heavily ironed, and placed 
with eighty others in a southern dungeon. My crime 
was that I had used seditious language, or, as they term 
it, had talked Union talk. "While I was in that prison 
numbers were led out and shot. 
• "At first they provided coffins for those that were shot, 

* See Letters of T. Bailey, Aci. Rear-Admiral, to Secretary of the 
Navy ; also Letters of H. K. Wheeler, Act. Surgeon, to W. Randall, 
Act. Vol. Lieut, commanding Pursuit. 



190 REASONS FOR DESERTING THE REBEL SERVICE. 

but the great number of executions exceeding the supply,, 
they dug a trench, and made the men sit down on the 
brink, and a certain number of soldiers advanced and 
fired three balls into the head and three into the heart. 
This was the mode of execution. 

" They sent after me with bloodhounds ; yes, with 
bloodhounds. They hunt the Union men now with 
these ferocious animals." 



REASONS FOR DESERTING THE REBEL SERVICE- 
REIGN OF TERROR IN TEXAS. 

LETTER OP CAPTAIN W. H. HENDERSON. 

When men once espouse a cause, I know it is gene- 
rally considered weak-minded to desert or abandon it. 
But men of sense, when convinced of an error, will al- 
ways repent, and make amends so far as in them lies. I 
espoused the cause of the rebellion in May, 1861, served 
as an officer in the Confederate army to the best of my 
ability until September, 1862, when I was put under 
arrest, by order of General Van Dorn, and held as a pri- 
soner until the second of the month of November, 1863. 
Notwithstanding I demanded an investigation of the 
charges time and again, it was refused. I urged a trial 
last month through the medium of influential friends, 
and the charges were investigated on the second of last 
month. I was exonerated and reinstated, sent to Avery's 
Island, on Vermillion Bay, to picket the roads and bay, 
and I deserted the command on the 11th, and reached 
the lines of the United States forces on the 22d or 23d, 
or thereabouts ; I cannot state precisely. I know that I 



REASONS FOR DESERTING THE REBEL SERVICE. 191 

shall be looked upon and treated with contempt by those 
whose sympathies are still with the rebels. Let it be so. 
I am prepared to meet their cold looks, and treat them 
with as much respect as I consider the cause to which 
they cling entitles them. I have done what I did after 
mature deliberation. I became convinced that I had 
embarked in a bad cause, and, after I was exculpated 
from the charges against me, I considered I had a right 
to act for myself. I enlisted in the rebellion against the 
earnest entreaties of my parents, and left my dear mo- 
ther in tears when I started for the rebel army. Oh 1 
that I had taken her counsel, and not proceeded, in spite 
of her tears, to the execution of a deed which I shall 
ever repent. But I think the adage is exemplified in 
this case, that experience is a dear school, but fools will 
learn in no other. #*♦**« 

There is much disaffection toward the rebel govern- 
ment among the trans-Mississippi people. Many, who 
previous to the Emancipation Proclamation of the Pre- 
sident of the United States were good Secessionists, are 
now as good Union ^men as they were rebels. They saw 
plainly that by complying with the Proclamation the 
war could be brought to a fcpeedy close, and the further 
effusion of blood be avoided. 

But why have not the people in the rebel states more 
generally complied ? Gladly would seven-eighths of the 
non-slaveholding population have done so, but a pro- 
position or hint of such a thing from any person would 
have been the signal of death to him or her without 
ceremony. It would have frustrated the designs of Gen- 
erals Lee, Joe Johnson, Bragg, Beauregard, Smith, 
Holmes, Magruder, Bill Yancey, &c. 

They all aspire to the presidency of the Confederate 
States, and before they would consent to the restoration 



192 REASONS FOR DESERTING THE REBEL SERVICE. 

of the Union, thereby blasting for ever their political 
aspirations, they would see the soil of Texas crimsoned 
with the blood of her partly deluded and down-trodden 
people. 

I assert, positively, that it is not the fault of the citi- 
zens of the States in rebellion that this war has not 
ended, and the Union been reconstructed. Twelve 
months ago, if the legal voters could have given expres- 
sion to their sentiments perfectly untrammelled, they 
would have voted reconstruction by a two-thirds majo- 
rity. The United States Government should wage a war 
of extermination against (the leaders) of the rebellion, 
and never lay down the sword till Jeff Davis, with every 
other leading conspirator, is seen dangling from the 
limbs of trees at the end of a rope. I have witnessed 
scenes in the Confederate army perpetrated upon the 
helpless and unoffending, by Confederate soldiers, that 
would make inhumanity itself blush. When General Tay- 
lor retreated from the Teche last summer, or the latter 
part of last . spring, there was scarcely a farm-house on 
the line of march but bore ocular proof of the depre- 
dations of Sibley's men, and the only excuse they gave 
for robbing the citizens was, that they did not want to 
leave it to the Yankees. 

They even went so far as to shoot cattle down on the 
prairie, and leave them lying to be eaten by the buz- 
zards. I saw a Texas soldier shoot a soldier's wife's cow 
in her yard, and it the only one she had ; and because 
she remonstrated, set her house on fire, and turned her 
and her little ones out of doors. 

Who, I ask, is responsible for all this ? Echo answers 
— Jeff Davis & Co. ; and the ghosts of thousands of help- 
less women and children and poor deluded soldiers will 
witness against them in the day of judgment. 



REASONS FOR DESERTING THE REBEL SERVICE. 193 

I am aware that I may be stigmatized as a deserter. 
Let it be so ; I am prepared to breast the storm of sneers 
and reproaches from those who were once my friends. 
I am here without money and without good clothes, but 
let come what will I am determined to lend all the aid 
in my power to crush the rebellion, and restore the' 
Union as it was, save the institution of slavery. I know, 
if I should be so unfortunate as to fall into the hands of 
the rebels, they will show me no quarter, consequently 
when they get me they will only get my dead body. 

I am ready and willing to go wherever I may in the 
judgment of the general commanding be most useful ; 
and I am determined, let others do as they may, to 
serve the United States Government to the best of my 
ability, and when I shall fall, I hope it may not be till I 
have wiped the stain from the stars and stripes which I 
have put upon them, by having been so silly as to have 
been blinded by what the southern demagogues say about 
our wrongs. If slavery is the cause of our family quar- 
rels and dissensions, do away with it, for God's sake — the 
sooner the better. 

I give you these few reasons for deserting the rebel 
army. There are those who may discard me from our 
former friendship on account of the course I have pur- 
sued. If so, I say go to the rebel army and meet me on 
the prairies of Texas, and we will settle all. 

W. H. Henderson, 

Formerly Captain C. S. A. 

17 



194: ' ASSASSINATION OF MR. HOUGH. 



MURDER OF WILLIAM JOHNSON. 

William Johnson, an inoffensive Union man living 
in Fentress county, Tennessee, was brutally murdered by 
that fiend, Champ Furguson, and a band of rebel villains 
made up from his own and a part of Bledsoe's company 
of murderers. Mr. Johnson was at work in a field a 
short distance from his residence, when he heard the click 
of some guns. He raised his head, and saw these ma- 
rauders standing with their guns pointing at him. Know- 
ing his chance for escape was small, he stood still, when 
the fiends fired at him, without any order or offer of sur- 
render. After the first volley, he started to run, and 
was pursued, the fiends firing at him and wounding 
him severely. He ran toward the river, thinking that 
if he gained it he might escape ; but before he reached 
the river the murderers had wounded him so severely 
that he could not keep his balance, and fell over the cliff 
just as the gang came up. In a short time the neighbors 
came out and looked for the body, and found it mangled 
in a most shocking manner. It was taken up and buried 
secretly, his friends being convinced that if Champ 
should be informed that they had buried the body of 
this inoffensive man, they would share the same fate.* 



ASSASSINATION OF MR. HOUGH. 

Mr. Alexander Hough, of Fentress county, Ten- 
nessee, a poor, inoffensive, but strong Union man, had 
by his frequent remarks against secession become a very 

* Dr. J. D. Hale, of Tennessee. 



ASSASSINATION OF MR. HOUGH. 195 

dangerous man in the estimation of the rebels, and they 
determined to put him out of the way. Some of the 
men belonging to one Bledsoe's company, called on that 
ever-ready assassinator, Champ Furguson, and requested 
him to lead an expedition against the life of Mr. Alex- 
ander Hough. Champ and his murderous associates 
immediately started for the victim's house. 

Arriving there, they instantly surrounded it, so that 
escape was impossible. The bandit and a few of his 
picked men then entered the house, and found Mr. Hough 
mending his shoes. They arrested him. His family were 
terror-stricken, knowing what his fate was likely to be. 
They plead for his life. The villains assured them that 
they intended him no harm — they would keep him a 
prisoner a few days and then send him home. 

After securing him, they started off, and had proceeded 
but a short distance, when the cry of " Shoot him !" 
" Shoot him !" was raised, and several made an attempt 
to do so, but their gallant leader stopped them, saying 
that they were still in sight of Hough's family. After 
travelling some distance further, they halted at old 
Piles's place, on*Wolf Eun, for water. Mr. Hough was 
left standing alone in the yard, when one of the fiends, 
seizing the opportunity, shot him in the arm, tearing it 
nearly off. The old man then sunk down and begged 
for water. They told him he could not have it. Rally- 
ing himself, he then got up and started for the spring. 
The whole band fired at him, two shots taking effect in 
his body. He fell, but struggling, gained his knees, and 
plead with them to send for his family, that he might see 
them before he died. This was refused the dying man. 
He besought them to give him a few moments for prayer. 
Champ cried out, "No, d — n you, this is no time to 



196 SHOOTING PRISONERS. 

pray !" and turning to his men, he commanded them to 
kill him. 

Two of Mrs. Piles's daughters ran up to the dying 
man and raised his head, regardless of the balls that 
were flying about them. Champ, seeing that they were 
rescuing him, rushed forward, and pointing his pistol at 
the head of the dying man, fired, saying — "Now you 
can have him !"* 



SHOOTING PRISONERS. 



On Saturday, April 2d, 1863, as three Union soldiers 
were stopping on the farm of a loyal citizen in Louisiana, 
within three miles of the Union lines, they were attacked 
by a party of guerrillas, and forced to surrender. They 
were then tied together, and marched a few miles off, 
when the guerrillas held a consultation, and decided to 
murder them by shooting. 

The soldiers, upon being informed of their doom, at- 
tempted to escape, when they were fired upon by the 
guerrillas, and one of them was instantly killed, three 
balls having penetrated his body. The other two suc- 
ceeded in making their escape. The murdered man's 
name was Cyrus McKey. A squad of cavalry were sent 
out to rescue the body of the murdered man, and when 
they found it it had been horribly mutilated after death. 

Brigadier-General Eansom, hearing of this abominable 
outrage, issued the following order : 

Headquarters, Department Thirteenth Army Corps, 
Natchitoches, Louisiana, April 2d, 1864. 

General Orders, No. 11. — Charles Diggs, and 

Lane, citizens residing near the camp, having to-day 

* Dr. J. D. Hale, of Tennessee. 



MURDER OF WILLIAM FROGG. 197 

murdered, in cold blood, Private Cyrus McKey, Com- 
pany I Twenty-fourth Iowa Infantry Volunteers, and 
escaped by flight, it is therefore ordered that the dwell- 
ings of said Diggs and Lane be burned, and that all 
property on their respective plantations, which may be 
of use to the army, be seized and turned over to the 
Quartermaster or Subsistence Department, for the use of 
this army. 

Captain Bacon, commanding detachment Eighteenth 
New York Cavalry, will detail a company to report to 
Captain J. W. Martin, Company I Twenty -fourth Iowa 
Infantry, to-morrow morning at 8 o'clock, who will exe- 
cute this order. 

The commanding officer of the Forty-eighth Ohio 

Infantry Volunteers will cause the men of his regiment, 

who were with private McKey, to be punished severely 

for violation of orders in leaving camp without authority. 

By order of 

Brigadier-General T. E. G. Ransom. 

C. E. Dickey, 

Captain, and A. A. G. 



MURDER OF MR. WILLIAM FROGG. 

A short time after the rebel forces were driven from 
Kentucky, in 1863, Mr. William Frogg, who had been 
from his family some time waiting upon his sick brother, 
at Summersett, started for his home. Upon his arrival 
some of his friends told him that it was dangerous for 
him to stay at home, and advised him to leave, as that 
notorious cut-throat, Champ Furguson, was out on a 
hunt for Union men, and had threatened to kill him if 
17* 



198 MURDER OF WILLIAM FROGG. 

he was caught. One of Furguscn's men, Harry Sublity, 
hearing that Frogg had been advised to leave home, 
called and told him to stay at home, and he would see 
that he was not injured. Frogg answered him that he 
should have to stay at home, as he was sick, and could 
not lie out in the wet and cold. After the traitor was 
satisfied that Mr. Frogg would remain at home, he left 
the house, and hunting Champ up, informed him how he 
had succeeded in decoying Mr. Frogg into the trap he had 
set for him. The next day Champ, with Vest Gwinn 
and Sublity, visited the house, Champ entering and the 
other two standing outside. Champ asked Mrs. Frogg, 
in a friendly manner, where her husband was. She, not 
thinking he had come to murder him, pointed to the 
bed upon which Mr. Frogg and his little child were lying, 
saying that he was there ; at the same time asking Champ 
to take a seat, and eat some fruit. " No," answered the 
bandit, turning toward the bed, u I have come to kill 
Frogg," at the same time ordering him to get up. " I 
can't," said Frogg; "don't kill me!" His wife, hearing 
the conversation, commenced begging and imploring the 
fiend not to kill her husband. Champ, hearing this ap- 
peal, turned and went to the door, when Gwinn motioned 
to him to return. He went back and deliberately shot 
Mr. Frogg, who sprang up in the bed. The blood- 
thirsty scoundrel then fired at him again, when Frogg 
fell back on the bed. This done, the fiend went out of 
the house, and joining his associates left the premises. 
Immediately after their departure, Mrs. Frogg started for 
assistance, and proceeded a short distance when she fell, 
fainting. The neighbors, hearing the shooting, soon 
gathered and found Mr. Frogg quite dead, and the little 
infant lying by his side covered with its. father's blood.* 

* Dr. J. D. Hale, of Tennessee. 



FIRING ON DROWNING MEN. 199 



FIRING ON DROWNING MEN. 

Flag Steamer Dinsmore, 
Off Morris Island, August 8, 1862. 

Sir : On the night of the 5th, one of the launches de- 
signed to guard the right flank of our shore batteries, 
having been drawn out into the harbor in observation of 
a rebel steamer, was suddenly attacked by the latter. 

Eight of the crew were picked up, and stated that the 
launch had been sunk. Yesterday a flag of truce came 
out from the enemy with a communication from General 
Gilmore. 

Captain Green, the senior officer outside, reports to 
me that the officer informed our boat that the launch had 
not been sunk, but was captured with Acting-Master 
Haines and twelve men. This leaves only two men miss- 
ing. The eight men who were received by our boat 
were all positive that they were all fired at from the 
steamer when they were in the water, and as this is in 
violation of the usages of war, I addressed a communi- 
cation to General Beauregard on the subject, requiring 
that whoever should be convicted of the fact should be 
punished, otherwise I would not be able to prevent re- 
taliation by our men. As yet I have received no an- 
swer. 

Ensign B. H. Porter deserves mention from me for the 
energy, courage, and intelligence with which he performed 
the duty assigned him of observing the enemy, and also 
for picking up the eight men who in some way were lost 
out of the launch. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obe- 
dient servant, John A. Dahlgren, 

Rear-Admiral, commanding S. A. B. Squadron. 

Hon. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, 
Washington, D. C. 



200 MURDER OF CAPTIVES. 



MURDER OF CAPTIVES IN TENNESSEE, BY 
SHOOTING AND DROWNING. 

Headquarters, Department of the Cumberland, 
Chattanooga, Tenn., Jan. 6, 1864. 

General Orders, No. 6. — It having been reported to 
these headquarters that between seven and eight o'clock 
on the evening of the 23d ult., within one and one-half 
miles of the village of Mulberry, Lincoln county, Ten- 
nessee, a wagon, which had become detached from a for- 
aging train belonging to the United States, was attacked 
by guerrillas, and the officer in command of the foraging 
party, First Lieutenant Porter, Company A, Twenty- 
Seventh Indiana Volunteers, the teamster, wagon-master, 
and two other soldiers, who had been sent to load the 
train (the latter four unarmed), were captured. They 
were immediately mounted and hurried off, the guerrillas 
avoiding the roads until their party was halted, about 
one o'clock in the morning, on the bank of Elk river, 
where the rebels stated they were going into camp for 
the night. 

The hands of the prisoners were then tied behind 
them, and they were robbed of everything of value about 
their persons. They were next drawn up in line, about 
five paces in front of their captors. One of the latter, 
who acted as leader, commanded " Ready !" and the whole 
party immediately fired upon them. One of the prison- 
ers was shot through the head, and killed instantly, and 
three were wounded. Lieutenant Porter was not hit. 
He immediately ran, was followed and fired upon three 
times by one of the party, and finding that he was about 
to be overtaken, threw himself over a precipice into the 
river, and, succeeding in getting his hands loose, swam to 



MURDER OF CAPTIVES. 201 

the opposite side, and although pursued to that side, and 
several times fired upon, he, after twenty-four hours of 
extraordinary exertions and great exposure, reached a 
house whence he was taken to Tullahoma, where he now 
lies in a critical situation. The others, after being shot, 
were immediately thrown into the river ; thus the mur- 
der of three men, Newell E. Orcutt, Ninth Independent 
Battery, Ohio Volunteer Artillery, John W. Drought, 
Company H, Twenty-second Wisconsin Volunteers, and 
George W. Jacobs, Company D, Twenty-second Wiscon- 
sin Volunteers, was accomplished by shooting and drown- 
ing. The fourth, James W. Foley, Ninth Independent 
Battery, Ohio Volunteer Artillery, is now lying in hos- 
pital, having escaped by getting his hands free while in 
the water. 

For these atrocities and cold-blooded murders, equal- 
ling in savage ferocity any ever committed by the most 
barbarous tribes on the continent, committed by rebel 
citizens of Tennessee, it is ordered that the property of 
all other rebel citizens, living within a circuit of ten 
miles of the place where these men were captured, be 
assessed, each in his due proportion, according to his 
wealth, to make up the sum of $30,000, to be divided 
among the families who were dependent upon the mur- 
dered men for support, as follows : — 

Ten thousand dollars to be paid to the widow of John 
W. Drought, of North Cape, Eacine county, Wisconsin, 
for the support of herself and two children. 

Ten thousand dollars to be paid the widow of George 
Jacobs, of Dele van, Walworth county, Wisconsin, for 
the support of herself and one child. 

Ten thousand dollars to be divided between the aged 
mother and sister of Newell E. Orcutt, of Burton, Grange 
county, Ohio. 



202 ATROCITIES COMMITTED BY INDIANS 

Should the persons assessed fail within one week after 
notice shall have been served upon them, to pay in the 
amount of their tax, in money, sufficient of their personal 
property shall be seized, and sold at public auction to 
make up the amount. 

Major-General H. W. Slocum, U. S. Volunteers, com- 
manding Twelfth Army Corps, is charged with the exe- 
cution of this order. 

The men who committed these murders, if caught, 
will be summarily executed, and any persons executing 
them will be held guiltless, and will receive the protec- 
tion of this army ; and all persons who are suspected of 
having aided, abetted, or harbored these guerrillas, will be 
immediately arrested and tried by military commission. 
By command of 

Major-General Thomas. 

W. D. Whipple, 

Assistant Adjutant-General. 



ATROCITIES COMMITTED BY INDIANS IN THE 
REBEL SERVICE. 

Headquarters, Army of the South-west, 
Forsyth, Missouri, April 12th, 1862. 

Sir: In compliance with your request, conforming to 
the wish of the Joint Committee of Congress " to inquire 
into the fact whether Indian savages have been employed 
by the rebels in their military service, and how such 
warfare has been conducted by such savages against the 
Government of the United States," 

I hereby certify, upon honor, that I was present at the 
engagement near Leetown, Arkansas, on the 7th of 



IN THE REBEL SERVICE. 203 

March ultimo, when the main charge of the enemy's 
cavalry was made upon our line ; that there were Indians 
among the forces making said charge ; and that from 
personal inspection of the bodies of the men of the Third 
Iowa Cavalry, who fell upon that part of the field, I 
discovered that eight of the men of that regiment had 
been scalped. I also saw bodies of the same men which 
had been wounded in parts not vital, by bullets, and 
also pierced through the heart and neck with knives, 
fully satisfying me that the men had first fallen from the 
gun-shot wounds received, and afterwards been brutally 
murdered. 

The men of the Third Iowa Cavalry, who were taken 

prisoners by the enemy, and who have since returned, 

all state that there were great numbers of Indians with 

them on the retreat as far as Elm Springs. * * * * 

Respectfully submitted, 

John "W. Noble, 
Regimental Adjutant Third Iowa Cavalry. 
Major-General S. R. Curtis, Commanding. 

The following is an official letter from the command- 
ing officer of the Third Iowa regiment in relation to the 
above : — 

Headquarters, Third Iowa Cavalry, 
Jacksonport, Arkansas, May 11th, 1862. 

General: On the morning of the 7th of March, I 
was on the battle field of Pea Ridge. "While my com- 
mand was engaging the enemy near Leetown, I saw in 
the rebel army a large number of Indians, estimated by 
me at one thousand. 

After the battle I attended in person to the burial of 
the dead of my command. Of twenty-five men killed 
on the field of my regiment, eight were scalped, and the 
bodies of others were horribly mutilated, being fired 



204 CRUELTY OF GENERAL HINDMAN. 

into with musket balls, and pierced through the body 

and neck with lonec knives. These atrocities I believe 

have been committed by Indians belonging to the rebel 

army. 

mm Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

. Cyrus Bussey, Colonel. 
Major- General S. R. Curtis, 

Commanding Army of the South-west. 

The foregoing facts are also authenticated by the sworn 
testimony of Daniel Bradbury, John Lawson, and others. 



FIENDISH CRUELTY OF GEx\ERAL HINDMAN. 

During the retreat of the rebel General Thomas C. Hind- 
man from the State of Missouri to Arkansas, one of the 
most heart-rending barbarities was inflicted by him, upon 
one of his own men, that ever appeared in the annals of 
crime. The facts of the case are as follows : Upon arriv- 
ing at a place called Prairie Grove, in Arkansas, a soldier 
whose name is forgotten, passing within a short distance 
of his own residence, left the ranks of the army without 
asking permission, and snatched a moment to run up and 
see his wife and children, having been away from his 
family over two years. Eeaching his humble cot, he 
found his wife surrounded by her kind neighbors in the 
last agonies of death. A few gasps, and the last spark 
of life was extinguished, and his beloved wife was a 
corpse. Not unmindful of his duty as a soldier, 
the heart-stricken husband tore himself away from his 
distressed children, who clung to his knees and begged 
their father to stay with them — hastened back to his 



LETTER FROM GENERAL RODGER3. 205 

regiment, not having been absent more than an hour. 
Upon his arrival he sought his general, and told him of 
the death of his wife, asking permission to return home 
long enough to bury his wife, and provide for his little 
children, thus deprived of their mother, until the expira- 
tion of his term of service in the rebel army. What 
man, with a heart, could resist such an appeal ! Besides 
this man was known to be one of the best soldiers in his 
regiment ; always at his post, and always willing to do 
all he could to please his superior officers. When the 
soldier had finished his appeal, Hindman not only 
refused the poor man's request, but in his rage ordered 
him to be immediately shot, for leaving the ranks with- 
out permission from him. The poor man was dragged 
away, and, without a trial, was immediately shot, within a 
few miles of his sorrowful home. Such deliberate mur- 
ders are common in the ranks of the Confederate army, 
and it is by such discipline that they keep the Union 
men in check, and make them fight for their worse than 
treasonable cause.* 



LETTER FROM GENERAL RODGERS. 

Sir : On the 7th of October, the rebels went to both 
of my homes ; the one at Eock Island, and the one in 
McMinville, to which my family had, in part, removed, 
robbing me of everything about the place. They took 
my wife's and daughter's clothes (not leaving them a 
change), the shoes from off their feet, my wife's watch, and 
all the silverware, and five thousand dollars worth of 



* Captain D. H. Bingham, of Alabama. 

18 



206 ASSAULT ON UNARMED NEGROES 

goods. They broke all my furniture to pieces, worth 
at least three thousand dollars ; destroyed all my papers ; 
and injured me in every way that their devilish minds 
could suggest. My loss cannot fall far short of thirty 
thousand dollars, and may be much more, in the way of 
papers. Upwards of eight thousand dollars in money 
was stolen from me. My wife says, " It is a clean sweep." 
I will go up home in a few days, and shall go to the 
commander of this department, General U. S. Grant, and 
get him to assess the rebels and their sympathizers, my 
neighbors, some of whom set them on. My family 
may, by this time, have gone to Illinois ; as my daughter 
wrote on the 12th of October, that they would leave as 
soon as they could. I have not heard from them since. 
My office detains me (Tax Commissioner) at this moment, 
but will not longer than a few days. It is certainly a 
troubled state of things. My family shall not longer be 
subject to such trouble. I have authorized the purchase 
of a home at Brighton, Illinois, thirty-five miles above 
St. Louis ; where I shall fix my family for the present. 
I am so unfixed in my mind, that I am not fit for any 
thing. Yours truly, 

J. B. EODGERS. 



MURDEROUS ASSAULT ON UNARMED NEGROES 
ON HUTCHINSON'S ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA. 

United States Ship Dale, 
St. Helena Sound, S. C, June 13th, 1862. 

Sir : This morning, at four o'clock, it was reported to 
me that there was a large fire on HutchinsoD's Island; 
and shortly after that, a preconcerted signal that the 
enemy were in the vicinity, had been made from the 



IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 207 

house of our pilots. I immediately started in the gig 
up Horn or Big Eiver Creek, in the direction of the fire, 
accompanied by the tender "Wildcat, Boatswain Downs ; 
launch, Acting-Midshipman Terry; 1st cutter, Acting- 
Master Billings ; 2d cutter, Acting-Master Hawkins ; and 
3d cutter, Coxswain Shurtleff. Soon after leaving the 
ship, a canoe, containing three negroes, was met, who 
stated that the rebels, three hundred strong, were at 
Mrs. March's plantation killing all the negroes. 

As we advanced up the creek we were constantly met 
by canoes, with two or three negroes in them, panic- 
stricken, and making their way to the ship, while white 
flags were to be seen flying from every inhabited point, 
around which were clustered groups of frightened fugi- 
tives. When about two and a half miles from Mrs. 
March's I was obliged to anchor the Wildcat, from the 
want of sufficient water in the channel, with orders to 
be ready to cover our retreat' if necessary. 

On arriving at Mrs. March's, the scene was fearfully 
painful. Her dwelling and chapel were in ruins — the 
air heavy with smoke — while at the landing were as* 
sembled over one hundred souls, mostly women and chil- 
dren, in the utmost distress. * * * * 

I there gathered the following particulars : The rebels, 
during the night, landed on the island from Fort Chap- 
man, with a force of unknown numbers, guided by a 
negro who for a long time had been on Otter Island in 
the employ of the army — surrounded the house and 
chapel, in which a large proportion of the negroes were 
housed, posting a strong guard to oppose our landing. 

At early dawn they fired a volley through the house. 
As the alarmed people sprang nearly naked from their 
beds, and rushed forth frantic with fear, they were shot, 
arrested, or knocked down. * * * * 



208 ASSAULT ON UNARMED NEGROES. 

It appears that the negro who guided the party had 
returned to them after the evacuation of the place, told 
them all the troops had been withdrawn, and that the 
islands were entirely unprotected except by this ship. I 
am therefore at a loss to account for their extreme bar- 
barity to negroes, most of whom were living on the 
plantation where they had been born, peacefully tilling 
the land for their support, which their masters by desert- 
ing had denied them, and were not remotely connected 
with the hated Yankee. 

Yery respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W..T. Truxtun, 
Lieutenant Commanding. 
Flag-Officer S. F. Dupont, 
Com. South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, 
Port Eoyal, South Carolina. 

Admiral Dupont, in transmitting (June 16, 1862) 
Lieut. Truxtun's graphic report of this murderous as- 
sault on unarmed men, women, and children, who had 
taken no part in the war — and were then scarcely ex- 
pected to — who were quietly remaining and cultivating 
the soil where they were born and reared, describes the 
letter as "giving, in strong and earnest words, the con- 
dition of many of these sea-islands in consequence of 
the withdrawal of the army forces to Stono." He adds: 

"The rebels surrounded the house with a ferocity 
characteristic, at all events, of this part of the South — 
murdered in cold blood the poor unfortunates, who were 
awakened from their slumbers to fall by the hands of 
the infuriated rebels. 

" The contrabands have remained quietly here culti- 
vating the plantations, under our protection, and it seems 
to me that the government is bound by every principle 



HANGING OF JOHN BEMAN. 209 

of justice and policy to shield them from these barbarous 
inroads." 

Noble words ! May they meet with a full response in 
every heart ! 



PROPOSED TREATMENT OF UNION PRISONERS. 

The following is from the Savannah (Georgia) Ke- 
publican : — 

"How shall we dispose of the [Federal] prisoners? 
Let the Quartermaster-General of the Confederate States 
issue his proclamation, stating that the prisoners will be 
hired out to the highest bidder, for some specified time, 
and in such number as the hirer may desire. I know of 
a gentleman of this city, a rice planter, who would gladly 
take two hundred of the Yankees on his plantation to 
build up and mend the dams of his fields. He is more de- 
sirous of doing this, he says, as the Northern gazettes have 
long asserted that we can do without negro labor, and 
he is anxious of testing the question. One good black 
driver to every forty Yankees, would insure good order 
and lively work among them." 



HANGING OF JOHN BEMAN FOR UTTERING UNION 
SENTIMENTS. 

The following article, taken as it is from the Memphis 
Bulletin, a rabid Secession paper, affords the most con- 
vincing evidence of the atrocious treatment of Union 
men in the revolted States, simply for the utterance of 
Union sentiments. The coolness with which the tragedy 
18* 



210 VIOLENCE TOWARDS NORTHERN PEOPLE, 

is related is significant. It will be perceived that no 
apology is offered, no contradiction attempted, but the 
atrocious act is recorded with that silence which gives 
consent. 

" John Beman is the name of the watchman on the 
steamer Morrison, who was hung near Mound City. He 
was a native of Norway, came to this country in 1811, 
and lived in Boston, where he has children. He was 
first examined by a committee, was proven to have said 
that he hoped Lincoln would come down the river 
and take everything; that he would die rather than 
live in the Southern States, and much more of the same 
sort that it is needless to repeat. The committee pro- 
posed to forgive him, if he would take an oath to sup- 
port the Southern States. He indignantly repelled the 
proposition, and said that he would die first. Finding 
that he was determined and malignant, they threw a 
rope over the limb of a tree, and strung him up twenty- 
five feet, where he was hanging last night." 



VIOLENCE TOWARDS NORTHERN PEOPLE.— OUT- 
RAGE ON A LADY. 

Mr. Collins, son of Dr. Collins, a noted Methodist, 
who escaped from the South some time since, relates the 
following : — 

Miss Gierstein, a young woman from Maine, who had 
been teaching near Memphis, became an object of sus- 
picion, and left for Cairo on the cars. One of the fire- 
men overheard her say to some Northern men, u Thank 
God ! we shall soon be in a land where there is freedom 
of thought and speech." The fellow summoned the 



PERSECUTION OF UNION MEN. 211 

Vigilance Committee, and the three Northern men were 
stripped, and whipped till their flesh hung in strips. 
Miss G. was stripped to her waist, and thirteen lashes 
given on her bare back. 

Mr. Collins says the brave girl permitted no cry or 
tear to escape her, but bit her lips through and through. 
With head shaved, scarred and disfigured, she was at 
length permitted to resume her journey toward civiliza- 
tion.* 



PERSECUTION OF UNION MEN, AND FACILITY OF 
GUERRILLAS IN TAKING THE OATH OF ALLE- 
GIANCE. 

Extracts of a letter from Lieutenant Commander Le 
Roy Fitch, dated U. S. Gunboat Lexington, Paducah, 
Kentucky, April 2d, 1864 :— 

* * * * I would state that all men along the river, 
above Fort Henry, must be either disloyal in sentiment 
or actually engaged in the rebel cause ; from what the 
numerous refugees tell me, none expressing sentiments 
the least loyal are permitted to remain at home or culti- 
vate their farms. 

Since so many of these guerrillas have been found 
dead on the battle-field, with the oath of allegiance in 
their pockets, I would believe no man of these guerrillas, 
though he had taken the oath forty times. 

* New York Tribune, August 7th, 186-1. 



212 gen. Fremont's proclamation. 



PROCLAMATION OF MARTIAL LAW IN MISSOURI, 
BY MAJOR-GENERAL FREMONT, FOR THE SUP- 
PRESSION OF REBEL DEPREDATIONS AND VIO- 
LENCE. 

Headquarters, Western Department, 
St. Louis, Mo., Aug. 30, 1861. 

Circumstances, in my judgment, are of sufficient 
urgency to render it necessary that the commanding 
general of this department should assume the adminis- 
trative powers of the State. Its disorganized condition, 
helplessness of civil authority, and the total insecurity 
of life and devastation of property by bands of murder- 
ers and marauders who infest nearly every county in the 
State, and avail themselves of public misfortunes in the 
vicinity of a hostile force, to gratify private and neigh- 
borhood vengeance, and who find an enemy wherever 
they find plunder, finally demand the severest measures 
to repress the daily increasing crimes and outrages which 
are driving off the inhabitants and ruining the State. 

In this condition the public safety and success of our 
arms require unity of purpose, without let or hindrance, 
to the prompt administration of affairs. In order, there- 
fore, to suppress disorders, maintain the public peace, 
and give security to the persons and property of loyal 
citizens, I do hereby extend and declare established mar- 
tial law throughout the State of Missouri. The lines of 
the army occupation in this State are for the present de- 
clared to extend from Leavenworth, by way of posts of 
Jefferson City, Rolla, and Ironton, to Cape Girardeau on 
the Mississippi river. All persons who shall be taken 
with arms in their hands within these lines shall be tried 
by court-martial, and if found guilty will be shot. Real 
and personal property of those who shall take up arms 



GEN. FREMONT'S PROCLAMATION. 2i3 

against the United States, or who shall be directly proven 
to have taken an active part with their enemies in the 
field, is declared confiscated to public use, and their slaves, 
if any they have, are hereby declared free men. 

All persons who shall be proven to have destroyed, 
after the publication of this order, railroad tracks, bridges, 
or telegraph lines, shall suffer the extreme penalty of the 
law. All persons engaged in treasonable correspondence 
in giving or procuring aid to the enemy, in fomenting 
turmoil, and disturbing public tranquillity, by creating 
or circulating false reports or incendiary documents, are 
warned that they are exposing themselves. 

All persons who have been led away from allegiance, 
are required to return to their homes forthwith. Any 
such absence, without sufficient cause, will be held pre 
sumptive evidence against them. The object of this de- 
claration is to place in the hands of military authorities 
power to give instantaneous effect to the existing laws, 
and supply such deficiencies as the conditions of the war 
demand, but it is not intended to suspend the ordinary 
tribunals of the country where law will be administrated 
by civil officers in the usual manner, and with their cus- 
tomary authority, while the same can be peaceably ad 
ministered. 

The commanding general will labor vigilantly for the 
public welfare, and by his efforts for their safety hopes 
to obtain not only acquiescence, but active support of 
the psople of the country. 

J. C. Fremont, Major-General, 

Commanding Western Department. 



214 TREATMENT OF SUSPECTED 

TREATMENT OF SUSPECTED UNION MEN IN 
VIRGINIA. 

Testimony before the Committee on the Conduct of 
the War of S. A. Pancoast, a resident of Hampshire 
county, Yirgihia : 

I was arrested November 10th, 1861, and carried to 
Winchester, on the charge of having carrier-pigeons with 
me. I had four little tumblers, and a pair of ruff- 
necked pigeons, which my little son had got in Baltimore. 
I was for a week kept there on parole. The Provost- 
Marshal was acquainted with me, and resigned his situa- 
tion because Jackson demanded that I should be put in 
prison. I was put in the guardhouse', and remained there 
ten days, suffering every indignity that could be put upon 
me. I applied for a writ of habeas corpus, and was taken 
to Eichmond the next night. 

The lawyer whom I had employed, said that there was 
no charge against me — it was not what I had done, but 
what I might do; that it was in my power to injure them, 
and therefore I was sent to Bichmond. 

In Richmond I was kept in the Main Street Prison 
for three months, with the officers of the North. When 
they were released I was put in prison with the citizen- 
prisoners. There were from five to seven hundred 
citizens, with some soldiers. For a week or two we had no 
privy there, except by going down three flights of stairs. 
I have seen old men of seventy or eighty years of age 
stand from seven o'clock in the morning until twelve 
o'clock the next day, before they had an opportunity of 
going down stairs. Fifty cents and a dollar was fre- 
quently paid by those who had money, for the privilege 
of going down. That was the cause of our greatest suf- 
fering then. 



UNION MEN IN VIRGINIA. 215 

While in Libby Prison, we had soup and beef once or 
twice a week. When the soup was brought into the 
room, I have seen them pick the maggots out of it before 
they ate it. If they did not eat that, they would have to 
go without. After the battle of Williamsburg, they 
picked out eight or ten of us, the firmest Union men 
there, and carried us to Salisbury, North Carolina, where 
we remained about ten months. When we got there, we 
were put into a small building, and kept there, without 
being allowed the privilege of going out for any pur- 
pose ; and there, again, our greatest sufferings were caused 
by the difficulty of attending to the calls of nature. We 
had a box in the room, which we were compelled to use 
until the stench became awful. 

We suffered very much during the warm weather. 
We were often compelled to lie so thick on the floor, that 
one could not turn over without all turning over. After 
a while, they allowed us a yard, containing five or six 
acres, where we were allowed to go in the day-time. At 
five o'clock we were compelled to return to the prison, 
which was then closed, and we remained in a close room 
until eight or nine o'clock the next morning. We could 
cook only in the yard — there was no chance to do so in 
the prison. 

On our way from Eichmond to Salisbury, we were 
seated on benches without backs (among us was an old 
man between seventy and eighty years of age), and com- 
pelled tc sit there for fifty-three hours : for the guard had 
positive orders to shoot any of us who should stand up. 
I think that ride sent a great many old men to their 
graves. They never recovered from it. With the ex- 
ception of the chills-and-fever of the country, we got 
along there a great deal better than we did in Eichmond. 
The deaths were not so frequent. After Mr. Wood, Su- 



216 TREATMENT OF SUSPECTED 

perintendent of the Old Capitol Prison, Washington, D. C, 
returned from his visit to Salisbury, we were made to 
suffer very much because we acknowledged that we were 
Union men. We were kept in close confinement from 
five o'clock in the evening until eight or nine o'clock the 
next morning, without any fire all, through the cold 
weather of the fall. 

From that exposure I was taken with inflammatory 
rheumatism, and suffered very much ; and at last a sur- 
geon, who was very kind to me, had me placed in a 
building out in the yard. But this was not done until 
they said that there was no hope of my living long. For 
six or eight weeks I could not get up, or dress or un- 
dress myself without assistance. At Eichmond we had 
a loaf of bread, and it was always good ; but at Salis- 
bury the bread was always sour — but with the exception 
of the bread, our food at Salisbury was better than at 
Eichmond. We had a small allowance however — from 
seven to fourteen ounces of food — for the twenty -four 
hours. If we got fourteen ounces, we thought that we 
were doing very well indeed. 

While in prison in Eichmond, a lot of " Louisiana Ti- 
gers," sentenced to confinement with ball and chain, were 
put in prison with us, and they abused us most shame- 
fully. And at Salisbury, where we had a yard, the guard 
around the fence would strike and punch at us with their 
bayonets if we got near enough the fence for them to 
reach us. This they would do every chance they could 
get. And while in the prison, the guard below would, 
at times, discharge their muskets up at the floor under 
our feet, and the balls would pass up among us. This 
was done several times. Since the 1st of August, a year 
ago, until we came away, we buried one hundred and sixty- 
seven of our Union prisoners. The death of these men 



UNION - MEN IN VIRGINIA. 217 

was caused mostly by want of suitable provisions. 
There was nothing for them, when they were sick, that 
was fitted for them. I think the most of them died from 
want of proper food. We had a surgeon there, but he 
had not much medicine to give us. And when a father 
was taken out to be buried, it was seldom that the son, 
if he had one there, was allowed to go to the funeral. 

TESTIMONY OF JAMES M. SEEDS, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO. 

I was arrested on the 6th of November, 1861, at 
Columbia, South Carolina. When I was first arrested, 
they took, of the money I had on my person, six hun- 
dred and thirty-five dollars. A few minutes after I wa3 
searched, we started on the cars for Eichmond. I was 
arrested on suspicion of being General Rosecrans going 
through the country, and I was searched for important 
papers which it was supposed I had upon me. The next 
morning after we started, and had passed Salisbury, 
North Carolina, I jumped off the train and made my 
escape, and took what is called the Western Extension 
train, and went as far as that went, seventy -four miles^ 
and then took the stage. I took the stage at Morgan- 
town, Buncombe county, North Carolina. An extra 
train followed right on after me, and I was again arrested 
just on the other side of the Blue Ridge. I was taken 
out of the stage by a mob, and it was with great diffi- 
culty that some men, who were friendly towards me, 
saved my life. I was then tied with my hands behind 
me, and made to walk seventeen miles to a town called 
Marion. There I again came very near being hung. I 
was there searched very closely and thoroughly, by tho 
pulling off of my clothes and boots, and the searching 
of them all, and six hundred and twenty dollars more 
were taken from me, partly paper and partly gold. I was 
19 



218 TREATMENT OF SUSPECTED 

then put into the county jail, in an iron cage, and locked 
up there that night with three thieves and two negroes. . 
The next morning I was taken out, again tied with a \ 
rope, and put into a two-horse barouche and taken back : 
to Morgantown. There three dollars of stage fare was • 
paid back to me, and then they took that from me. That 1 
night I was made to walk six miles with my hands tied 1 
behind me, down to what is called the head of the road. 
I was treated very well there. The men working on the 
road there, took the rope off me and gave me a comfort- 
able bed. I found them all Union men. My arrest and 
re-arrest had been made by Georgia men — some men of 
a Georgia regiment. I was then taken to Salisbury, 
North Carolina, where for the third time, I came near 
being hung. At Salisbury I was put in irons, and taken 
to Eichmond. On the way above Ealeigh, a mob 
wanted to take me out of the cars and hang me, but they 
did not do it. I arrived in Eichmond on the night of the 
12th of November, 1861, and was put into a building, 
called by them "No. 7," with some Federal prisoners of 
war. The next morning, still handcuffed, I was taken 
out of that building, and put into the Henrico county 
jail.- A few days afterwards, I had an examination; 
before James Lyons, and there they swore that, from all 
the evidence they could get, they believed me to be 
General Eosecrans. Lyons himself told me that I ought 
to have been hung; that they never ought to have 
brought me there. After that examination, I was taken 
back to the county jail. Lyons reported to their Secretary 
of War that they believed me to be a spy, and recom- 
mended the government to hold me as such, until he 
could get evidence enough to hang me. Some time in 
February, I sued out a writ of habeas corpus, employing 
as my lawyers," Messrs. Nance and Williams, a legal 



UNION MEN IN VIRGINIA. 219 

firm there. The suit was brought before Judge Mere- 
dith, I think. He said that, according to the evidence, 
he would have to discharge me from prison. A man 
named Patrick Henry Elliott was the lawyer for the 
government, and put in the plea that the government 
should hold me as a spy. When the judge made this 
remark, and he found that I was about to be discharged, 
Elliott said he thought the Secretary of War would dis- 
charge me, if my attorneys would go before him. My 
attorneys were to meet Mr. Elliott, and did go before 
the Secretary of War. Mr. Nance came to the county 
jail afterwards, and told me that the Secretary of War 
did make out my discharge for release from prison, and 
that General Winder put in objections to my being dis- 
charged upon the ground of my being a Union man ; 
and stated that when I was arrested, there was a letter 
found on me, written to a clergyman in Columbia, South 
Carolina, recommending me as a good and reliable 
Union man. That is what Mr. Nance told me was done 
at the war office. The Secretary of War then said that 
he would hold me three or four days longer, and give 
General Winder a chance to produce that letter. Mr. 
Nance came to see me about it, and I told him that there 
was no- such paper about me, and never had been. On 
the 18th of March, I, with others, broke out of the 
county jail and tried to make our escape. But I was 
recaptured on the Pamunkey river, and taken back and 
put into the county jail again, and there heavily ironed. 
They did not iron me quite as heavily as they did some, 
but more heavily than they did others. We were con- 
fined in tho jail with negroes, thieves, and all kinds of 
criminals. We were fed pretty well, but there were 
from time to time eighteen or twenty negroes there, and 
never less than four or five. On the morning of the 



220 INHUMANITY TOWARDS NEGROES. 

15th of May, we were hurried off to Salisbury, North 
Carolina, on the cars, as Mr. Pancoast has described, 
without the privilege of getting up from the seat, under 
the penalty of being shot, and without anything to eat, 
until along in the afternoon of the 16th of May. While 
we were at Ealeigh, I got a man named Kaschmier, one 
of the police, to allow me to send out and get some cakes. 
That evening, they gave each of us half a loaf of bread, 
and a slice of meat, both raw and fat. That is all they 
gave us from the time we left Eichmond, until we got 
to Salisbury. And as near as I can recollect, we were 
fifty-three hours on the road. 



INHUMANITY TOWARDS NEGROES ON THE GOV- 
ERNMENT PLANTATIONS IN MISSISSIPPI. 

REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL A. W. ELLET. 

Head-Quarters, Mississippi, Marine Brigade, 
Flag Ship Autocrat, above Vicksburg, July 3d, 1863. 

Admiral : I have the honor to report that, in accord- 
ance with your instructions, I proceeded without delay, 
on the evening of the 29th of June, to Goodrich's Land- 
ing, with my whole available command. I found the 
troops at that point all under arms, and could plainly 
see the evidence of the enemy's operations in the burn- 
ing mansions, cotton-gins, and negro quarters, as far as 
the eye could reach. It was two o'clock, on the morning 
of the 30th of June, when I reached the scene of opera- 
tions. I at once ordered the entire force to disembark, 
infantry, artillery, and cavalry, and at daylight started 
in search of the enemy, Colonel Wood, commanding the 
negro troops, accompanying me with his whole force. 



INHUMANITY TOWARDS NEGROES. 221 

About five miles out, we reached Colonel Wood's out- 
posts, where, the night before, two companies of negro 
troops with their officers had been surrounded and cap- 
tured, after a spirited resistance and considerable loss to 
the enemy. From this point I started the cavalry in 
advance to push the retreating enemy, and, if possible, 
hold them until the main body could be brought for- 
ward. They overtook the enemy resting on the opposite 
side of the Bayou Tensas, and immediately engaged him, 
and held him in check till I arrived with the main body. 
The enemy had shown a large force of cavalry and 
several pieces of artillery. He endeavored to cross the 
bayou with one regiment of cavalry and turn my right 
flank, which movement was promptly met by our ad- 
vance line of skirmishers, who repulsed the enemy 
handsomely. At the same time my artillery opened 
upon him with effect, and he retreated precipitately, 
having piled all the bridge flooring together, and burned 
it to prevent our crossing. I crossed three companies 
on the sleepers, who followed the line of retreat for near 
two miles. They found the road strewn with abandoned 
booty, stolen from the houses they had burned — among 
other articles a very fine piano. 

Three of the enemy's dead were found on the field, 
and some thirty stand of small-arms were picked up. 
The enemy were undoubtedly, from information subse- 
quently obtained, more than double our strength, and 
were provided with artillery and cavalry, but they were 
evidently not inclined to make a standing fight, their 
main object being to secure the negroes taken from the 
plantations along the river, some hundreds of whom 
they had captured. In passing by the negro quarters, 
on three of the burning plantations, we were shocked by 
the sight of the charred remains of human beings, who 
19* 



222 WRONGS AND OUTRAGES 

had been burned in the general conflagration. No doubt 
they were the sick negroes whom the unscrupulous 
enemy were too indifferent to remove. 

I witnessed five such spectacles myself, in passing the 
remains of those plantations that lay in our line of 
march, and do not doubt there were many others on the 
twenty or more plantations that I did not visit, which 
were burned in like manner. » ■* » * 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
Alfred W. Ellet, 
Commanding Miss. Marine Brigade. 
Acting Rear- Admiral D. D. Porter, 

Commanding Miss. Squadron. 



TENNESSEE. 



The inhabitants of this State have been subjected to 
greater indignities and wrongs at the hands of the rebels 
than the people of any other portion of the country. At 
the commencement of the rebellion they gave a large 
majority for the Union. The rebel government, finding 
the Union sentiment so strong, to suppress it sent a large 
body of soldiers into the State, under the pretence of 
protecting the people from the depredations of the Lin- 
colnites. Upon their arrival, Tennessee was declared to 
be part of the Confederacy. These soldiers traversed 
the State, committing indescribable cruelties upon those 
who were suspected of loyalty to the Union. Houses 
were burned, and their inmates compelled to fly for safety 
to the woods and mountains, or into the neighboring 
States ; men were seized and forced into the rebel ranks; 
or subjected to every species of suffering, and in many 






IN TENNESSEE. 223 

cases to violent and excruciating death. Many were 
sent to Kichmond, where they were treated infinitely 
worse than the prisoners of war, and suffered a thousand 
deaths. Women were tortured to compel them to dis- 
close the place of concealment of their fathers, husbands, 
brothers, and sons ; refugees were pursued with blood- 
hounds, and often torn in pieces by these ferocious ani- 
mals. Some, who had lain out in the woods for many 
months, suffering everything short of absolute starva- 
tion, were caught and hung without mercy, simply be- 
cause they were Union men. 

The time was when we were horrified by, and even 
discredited the statements of, the persecuted Union men 
who were fortunate enough to escape into the Union 
lines, but these statements are so well authenticated, and 
come to us from so many different and reliable sources 
that no room for doubt is left. 

As an illustration of the sufferings of the persecuted 
Union men of Tennessee, we give the following well- 
authenticated instances : — 

In the early part of the rebellion, J. Staple, living in 
Scott county, Tennessee, for many years clerk of the 
county court, a man of great influence, thoroughly de- 
voted to the Union cause, openly declared that the Southern 
people were madly rushing to ruin ; that he was opposed 
to Secession, and warned his neighbors against the steps 
they were then taking, telling them that they never could 
conquer the Government, and would yet see the day that 
they would be sorry for what they were doing. " There 
could never be," he said, "two independent governments 
in this land, and the Northern people would never be 
satisfied until the rebellious States laid down their arms, 
and returned to their allegiance to the old Government." 
Mr. Staple was in his sixty-first year, and had lived in 



224 WRONGS AND OUTRAGES 

Scott county nearly if not quite all his life, and a great 
many looked up to him as a father and guide. The rebels, 
finding that his influence was injuring their cause, con- 
cluded that the best thing they could do would be to 
rid the country of such a dangerous man, as they termed 
him, and thereby make others, who were more timid, 
acquiesce in and sanction their cause. They determined, 
therefore, to murder him on the first opportunity, and 
forthwith sent a squad of Confederate soldiers to the old 
man's house. 

Upon their arrival they arrested the old and feeble 
man, telling him that they had come to kill him, as he 
had been injuring their cause by his d — d Union talk. 
The old man protested against his arrest ; the fiends paid 
no attention to what he said, but hurried him off to a 
tree near by, and tying him to it, went off a few steps, 
and, turning around, deliberately shot him, killing him 
instantly, and went off, leaving the body still tied to the 
tree, to be taken down and buried by his distressed 
family, or some friendly neighbors. This is only one of 
their many fiendish murders, in which age and worth 
have been disregarded. 

One would think, to hear the boastings of the chivalry, 
that it is their greatest desire to conduct themselves gal- 
lantly and honorably towards the fair sex. The follow- 
ing will show how far their conduct agrees with their 
professions. Mrs. Davenport, living in Greene county, 
Tennessee, a woman of respectability, associating with 
the best class of society, was visited by a party of fiends 
in the garb of Confederate soldiers. After threatening 
to burn everything about the place, they seized Mrs. 
Davenport. As soon as they laid hands on her, she 
knew it was for an evil purpose, and she screamed for 
help, and begged the ruffians to release her. But her 



IN TENNESSEE. 225 

entreaties were of no avail. They had come for a vil- 
lanous purpose, and intended to carry it out. She was 
dragged off to a neighboring wood, and violated by the 
whole gang. They then let her loose, to seek her home 
and friends as best she could. An instance similar to 
the above, only of a more disgraceful character, was per- 
petrated upon a young lady named Walters, living in 
Haywood county, Tennessee. The fiends, after outraging, 
murdered her in cold blood, and then hung her old 
father. 

In the month of April, 1863, a young woman, whose 
name is withheld for obvious reasons, was set upon by a 
pack of these fiends as she was quietly attending to the 
domestic affairs of her father's house, and dragged to a 
neighboring tree. The fiends stripped her of her cloth- 
ing, piece by piece, until she was entirely naked. They 
then put a rope around her neck, in the mean time ask- 
ing her to tell where her father and brothers were hid, 
as they were Union men, and they only wanted to catch 
them. Could they but do that, they said, they would not 
have occasion to hide out in the woods, as they were sent 
there to kill every d — d Union man in the county. She 
refused to disclose anything, and was immediately hung 
up to the tree, and after hanging a short time was let 
down by her tormentors, and allowed to dress herself. 
They then threatened her with tortures that none but 
fiends could devise, to compel her to tell where they could 
find her father and brothers, but she positively refused. 
After some more threatening they released her. Such 
conduct none but fiends could be guilty of. 

A minister of the Gospel, in all Christian countries, 
is justly respected on account of the position he holds. 
Even the heathen treat the teachers of religion with 
reverence. The savage that roams the far western 



226 WRONGS AND OUTRAGES 

forests, looks upon the ambassadors of Christ with senti 
merits of respect. Even when the red man has been at 
war with his white neighbors, he has seldom done vio- 
lence to the minister and the missionary. The following 
incidents will show into what depths of barbarism the 
rebels have fallen in this'respect. It matters not to them 
what may be the position or character of the person who 
adheres to the Union, they stop at nothing. 

Rev. L. Carter, a Methodist minister, and his son, 
living in Bradley county, East Tennessee, were dragged 
from their homes, and inhumanly murdered by a party 
of Confederate monsters, in the garb of soldiers. Their 
crime was that they were d — m Union men. 

Rev. Mr. Cavander, a Methodist minister, living in 
Van Baren county, was brutally murdered, because he 
was known to be a man of influence and a strong Union 
man, and gave fearless utterance to his Union sentiments. 
A party of rebel fiends, who were stationed in the neigh- 
borhood, rode up to his house, and calling him out, 
immediately seized him, putting a rope around his neck, 
then placing him upon a horse, they rode off to the 
woods, telling him that he had been talking against the 
Confederacy, and they wanted him to retract, and if he 
refused, they would hang him. He replied, "God gave 
me breath to bear witness to his truth, and when I must 
turn it to the work of lies and crime, it is well enough 
to yield it up to Him who gave it." They then, in a 
tantalizing manner, told him to pray, for he had but 
little time to do it, and he had better be quick about it. "I 
am not one of those," he replied, " who have to wait until 
a rope is around my neck, to pray." They then requested 
him to swear that he would stand by the Confederate 
Government, telling him if he refused, that they cer- 
tainly would hang him. lie positively refused, saying, 



IN TENNESSEE. 227 

'•Hang away, if you wish." One of them then climbed up 
a tree and tied the rope, which was fastened to his neck, 
to a limb of the tree, and another of the fiends gave the 
horse upon which Mr. Cavander was sitting a blow with 
a stick, which caused the horse to spring forward, and 
this inoffensive heroic man was added to the long cata- 
logue of their country's martyrs. After his body had 
hung for some time, it was taken down, and the flesh 
actually torn from the bones by these worse than fiends, 
and thrown to the hogs. They then cut his heart out, 
and thrusting a stick through it, carried it to a neighbor- 
ing village, and set it up in a public place, so that it 
could be seen by the passers-by, where it remained until 
it rotted. The fiends, when asked why they had done 
so, said it was to give warning to all the d — m Lincoln- 
ites, that they would be served the same way if caught. 

Eev. Mr. Blair, of Hamilton county, East Tennessee, 
a Baptist minister, was arrested by a party of rebel 
soldiers, one of whom drew a knife across his throat, 
cutting it from ear to ear. The fiends did this in the 
presence of his distressed family, and then went off 
rejoicing that they had rid the soil of Tennessee of 
another d — m Abolition preacher. 

They also murdered Eev. Mr. Douglass, a Presby- 
terian minister, for no other reason than that he was 
suspected of being a Union man. 

In the early part of the rebellion, the rebels employed 
blood-hounds to hunt up the refugees, who, when caught, 
were either murdered or forced into the ranks of the 
Confederate army. But in the course of a year or two, 
the hunting of conscripts with these dogs became old. 
Besides, the fugitives learned how to elude the animals 
by putting pepper, onions, &c, into their shoes, and thus 
put them off the scent. The chivalry then tried a new 



228 WRONGS AND OUTRAGES 






method of hunting fugitives by employing Indians. An 
order was issued by the provost-marshal of Knoxville, 
that he would give five dollars apiece to every Indian 
who brought in a conscript or his ears. The Indian, 
naturally indolent, did not trouble himself with bringing 
in his prisoner, but would shoot him, and then cut off 
his ears and put them on a string, and bring them into 
Knoxville and receive his five dollars. There were at 
one time, in the mountains of Sevier county, some four 
or five hundred of these Indians, under the command of 
one Colonel Thomas, a prince of fiends, who allowed his 
savage associates to commit all sorts of depredations; 
and it is an established fact that they even killed inno- 
cent women and children to satisfy the savage propen- 
sities of their commander. They are fit associates for 
their rebel brothers. The red man is the more humane 
of the two. 

In the month of March, 1862, Captain Cross and a 
man named Davis, belonging to the Seventh East Ten- 
nessee Union Eegiment, were captured by a party of 
rebels, while they were away from their regiment. They 
were hurried off to a secure place, where they were 
inhumanly murdered by their captors. The reason 
assigned for this double murder was, that they were 
Tennesseeans, and belonging to the Union army. 

A party of rebels went to the house of old Mr. Smith, 
in Blount county, and arresting him, took him into the 
road, a short distance from his home, and informed him 
that he must die ; that no Lincolnite could live in Ten- 
nessee. Mr. Smith plead for his life, reminding them of 
his age (he was over sixty); also telling them that he 
had a large famiiy dependent upon him for support, and 
that if they killed him, his family would starve. Plead- 
ings were of no avail. They told him that they could 



IN TENNESSEE. 229 

not stand there and hear such talk ; that they wished to 
finish up the job and be off, as they had other business 
to attend to besides listening to him. They then drew 
their pistols and shot the old man, killing him instantly, 
and leaving his body lying in the road, to be buried by 
his wretched, horror-stricken family. 

In November, 1862, two citizens of the city of Mem- 
phis, Tennessee, named H. Peers and T. Wolf, having 
some business of importance to transact in the country 
above Memphis, on their road stopped at the house of 
Judge Anderson, a strong Union man. After eating 
supper, they retired to bed ; but had been there only a 
short time, when they heard a noise of voices outside of 
the house — then a thumping at the door — then a demand 
for the two men. Judge Anderson positively refused to 
let them in. They then set up a yell, and commenced 
battering down the door, which was soon accomplished, 
and the two unfortunate men were dragged from their 
beds. After robbing them of all their money, they in- 
formed them that it was their intention to kill them. 
The men plead for their lives ; but it was of no avail. 
The cowardly miscreants, drawing their pistols, shot 
their helpless victims, killing Mr. Peers instantly, the 
ball entering his breast. Mr. Wolf was shot in the back 
two or three times, when he fell, and the ruffians left. 
Some time after they were gone, it was ascertained that 
Mr. Wolf was still alive. He was immediately carried 
to Memphis in a dying condition. 

In the spring of 1862, an old man, named Neil, was 
murdered b} T a gang of Confederate soldiers in MicMle 
Tennessee. Mr. Neil was a strong and earnest Union man, 
and was making his way to the Union lines after having 
all his property destroyed. A party of rebels dressed in 
Federal uniform were riding along the road, whom he 
20 



230 INDIGNITIES TO GOV. JOHNSON. 

hailed, and expressed a desire to accompany them to the 
lines. After questioning the old man in regard to his 
sentiments, they said, " You are a d — d Lincolnite I" and 
shot him dead on the spot.* 



INDIGNITIES TO ANDREW JOHNSON, LATE U. S. 
SENATOR, NOW MILITARY GOVERNOR OF TEN- 
NESSEE. 

Andeew Johnson, U. S. Senator from Tennessee, 
passed through Lynchburg, Virginia, on his way from 
Washington to Tennessee. A large crowd assembled 
and groaned at him. They offered him every indignity, 
and efforts were made to take him off the cars. Mr. 
Johnson was protected by the conductor and others. 
He denied sending a message asserting that Tennessee 

o o o 

should furnish her quota of men.f 

Our citizens heard yesterday, with every demonstra- 
tion of delight, the indignity offered Governor Johnson 
on his way from Washington to Greenville. His pre- 
sence in Virginia was regarded as exceedingly offensive 
to Virginians. He was insulted at almost every depot. 
At Lynchburg his nose was most handsomely pulled, 
while he was hooted and groaned at by a large crowd. 
The traitor is meeting his reward. We have heard since, 
from good authority, that at Liberty, Bedford county, 
Virginia, Johnson was taken from the cars, and a rope 
placed around his neck preliminary to a proposed hang- 
ing. Some old citizens of the county begged for him, 
saying that Tennessee would do for him what they pro- 
posed to do, and he was let off4 

* The foregoing statements are abundantly confirmed by J. B. Neil, 
L. S. Walters, T. E. Wister, J. H. Kennedy, and others, 
•j- Commercial Advertiser, April 26th, 1861. 
% Memphis Avalanche, April 25th, 1801. 



ATTACK ON MEMPHIS. 231 



ATTACK UPON MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE. 

About four o'clock, Sunday morning (21st August 
last), the advance of the enemy, about four hundred 
strong, under Lieut. -Colonel Jesse Forrest, clashed into 
the lower end of Beal street ; and while one-half of them 
scattered in squads of ten or fifteen in different direc- 
tions, the others proceeded to the headquarters of General 
Washburn. A few minutes afterwards, the main body 
came thundering into town, and the whole city was at 
once in an uproar. Bodies of rebels, from ten to two 
hundred strong, filled the streets, pursuing and firing at 
almost every one they could see. The alarm-bells for 
rallying the militia were rung, signal-guns boomed from 
the fort, the bells on the steamers at the levee added 
their clamor to the general uproar, and the streets were 
crowded with rushing throngs of panic-stricken people, 
and squads of the enrolled militia hurrying to their re- 
spective armories. From the fact that nearly every 
avenue of communication between the different parts of 
the city was stopped by rebel cavalry, it was impossible 
to make any organized resistance. The militia in most 
instances were unable to reach their armories, and a 
great many of those who took part in the different fights 
were using their own or borrowed arms. 

Lieut.-Colonel Forrest, with two hundred of the ad- 
vance guard, pressed on up Beal street as soon as he 
entered the city, and made directly for General Wash- 
burn's quarters on Union street. A guard was thrown 
around the square in which the headquarters are situated, 
and Forrest with a part of his men entered and began 
to search for the General. 

But a few minutes before this occurred, Colonel Starr 



232 ATTACK ON MEMPHIS. 

of the Sixth Illinois Cavalry, rode up to General Wash- 
burn's quarters and informed him of the state of affairs. 
He directly went into the street, but seeing a body of 
rebels coming rapidly toward him, he returned and went 
out the back way, and almost simultaneously the build- 
ing was assaulted in front. As he was leaving the premi- 
ses, he was ordered to halt, and failing to comply, several 
shots were fired at him, but without effect. His staff 
with one exception (Lieut. Kinzy) escaped. Several 
clerks employed in the Assistant Adjutant-General's 
office were captured. The door being forced, search for 
the General was at once commenced, and every room, 
closet, and corner, was pried into. They even ascended 
to the roof in their anxiety to find him. Finally, after 
ransacking the building for about twenty minutes, the 
search was abandoned, and the party left, taking with 
them the General's overcoat and some papers, leaving the 
following note (with others, of which I have heard but not 
seen), which was picked up by one of the Seventh Illi- 
nois Cavalry. 

Headquarters, Memphis, August 21st, 1864. 

To Major-General Washburn : Any property be- 
longing to you, that is missed, will be paid for six months 
after the recognition of the Southern Confederacy. 
By order of 
Major-General N. B. Forrest, Commanding. 

As thieves are not much given to paying for what they 
steal, the writer of the above must feel confident that 
the contingency under which he assumes to pay for what 
was stolen from General Washburn, will never arise, 
otherwise he would not assume the obligation so will- 
ingly. Two horses belonging to the General were also 
taken. 



ATTACK ON MEMPHIS. 233 

From headquarters the rebels proceeded to the 
Gayoso House, on Front street, which is the general 
stopping-place of officers, and riding into the public hall, 
in which the office is situated, until it was crowded with 
horsemen, Colonel Forrest asked for General Hurlburt. 
The clerk replied that he was not in the house, when 
Forrest told him he was a d — n liar, and springing from 
his horse, asked the number of Hurlburt's room, which 
was readily given. He went up to General Hurlburt's 
room, but not finding him there, proceeded from room to 
room, forcing the doors and searching every possible 
hiding-place. The occupant of room number two hun- 
and sixty-one, says, that while they were in his room 
looking under and behind his bed for General Hurlburt, 
one of them peeped up the chimney, as if he thought the 
General had crawled up there, which was taken as a good 
joke, and the whole party laughed boisterously. While 
the search was going on, many of the guests were robbed 
of money, watches, &c, and the aggregate of their stolen 
accumulations must have amounted to several thousand 
dollars. Not being successful in finding General Hurl- 
burt, who happened to be spending the night with a friend 
in the city, Colonel Forrest registered the name of 
Major-General Forrest and staff, immediately under that 
of Major-General Hurlburt, and left the hotel. 

While the rebels where at the Gayoso House, Lieu- 
tenant Harrington, of the Third United States Artillery, 
was captured and placed under guard behind the office 
counter. A few minutes after he was placed there, a 
rebel on the sidewalk fired through the window at him, 
the ball passing through his head, killing him instantly. 
The body was at once rifled of everything valuable, and 
left lying on the floor. 

Captain Cook, of General Hurlburt's staff, had two 
20* 



234 ATTACK ON MEMPHIS. 

thousand dollars taken from his room, and the cigar 
stand in the public hall was robbed of the same amonnt* 
The money belonging to the hotel was not touched, 
owing doubtless to the well-known principles of the 
proprietor. 

The Gayoso Hospital was attacked by a force of one 
hundred and fifty rebels, who fired upon and wounded one 
of the guards, and afterward poured several heavy vol- 
leys into the windows, when they were ordered to cease 
firing. Proceeding to the rear of the building, they 
captured eight or ten convalsecents, one of whom being 
unable to travel, was shot and severely wounded. 

New items of barbarism committed by the rebels on 
Sunday are hourly coming to light. Besides the con- 
valescent taken from the Gayoso Hospital, and shot be- 
cause he could not walk fast enough to keep up on the 
retreat, three men in the hospital of the Thirty- seventh 
Illinois, who were too sick to get off their cots, were 
shot as they lay and then bayoneted. Two privates of 
the Seventh Wisconsin Battery, who were captured while 
they were asleep, were approached and shot without a mo- 
ment's notice, as they were being taken to the rear. One 
of them was fifty years old. 

The rebels captured about two hundred and fifty 
prisoners, mostly hundred days men. Many of these sub- 
sequently escaped, but others were murdered. 

They fired on the patients in hospitals, shot several 
of the sick soldiers, and captured others. 

The prisoners they took, who were unable to keep 
up with their cavalry, were killed.* 

* New York Daily Tribune. 



GENERAL HUNTER'S CIRCULAR. 235 



ATTACK UPON BRANDENBURG, KENTUCKY. 

At daylight on the morning of August 10th, 1864, 
the town of Brandenburg, Kentucky, was attacked by a 
body of rebels under one Capt. Dupaster. After entering 
the town and committing some depredations, they were 
driven from the town by the Home Guards, and after 
firing a few shots, they sent in the following insignificant 
demand for the surrender of the town : — 

Headquarters of the Seventh Kentucky Cavalry. 

Home Guards : We demand an immediate surrender 
of the town, and if there is a shot fired at us from any 
person in the town, we will burn the place, and shoot 
every citizen who is caught bearing arms. 
By order of 
Captain Dupaster and Captain Bryant, 

Commanding the Confederate forces, 
in Meade County, Kentucky. 

Of course the Home Guards refused to surrender the 
town, and after a slight skirmish the rebels were soundly 
thrashed and driven from the town. Next morning they 
were seen passing through Meade, and a body of Union 
troops pursuing them. (This article is authenticated by 
a man of high standing, whose name is withheld for fear 
of personal violence.) 



GENERAL HUNTER'S CIRCULAR. 

The depredations of the guerrillas became so nume- 
rous in the Valley of Virginia, murders and robberies so 



236 GENERAL HUNTER'S CIRCULAR. 

frequent, and by the aid of the Secessionists the perpe- 
trators so uniformly escaped justice, that General Hunter 
was compelled to issue the following circular : — 

Headquarters, Department op West Virginia, 
In the Field, Valley of the Shenandoah, May 24, 1864. 

Sir: Your name has been reported to me with evi- 
dence that you are one of the leading Secessionist sym- 
pathizers in this valley, and that you countenance and 
abet the bushwhackers and guerrillas who infest the 
woods and mountains of this region, swooping out on the 
roads to plunder and outrage loyal residents, falling upon 
and firing into defenceless wagon-trains, and assassinating 
soldiers of this command, who may chance to be placed 
in exposed positions. These practices are not recognised 
by the laws of war of any civilized nation, nor are the 
persons engaged therein entitled to any other treatment 
than that due by the universal code of justice to pirates, 
murderers, and other outlaws. 

But from the difficulties of the country, the secret aid 
and information given to these bushwhackers by persons 
of your class, and the more important occupation of. the 
troops under my command, it is impossible to chase, 
arrest, and punish these common marauders as they de- 
serve. Without the courtenance and help given to them 
by the rebel residents of the valley, they could not sup- 
port themselves for a week. You are spies upon our 
movements, abusing the clemency which has protected 
your persons and property, while loyal citizens of the 
United States, residing within the rebel lines, are inva- 
riably plundered of all they may possess, imprisoned, 
and in some cases put to death. It is from you, and your 
families and neighbors, that these bandits receive food, 
clothing, ammunition, and information, and it is from 
their secret hiding-places, in your houses, barns, and 



GENERAL HUNTER'S CIRCULAR. 237 

woods, that they issue on their missions of pillage and 
murder. 

You are therefore hereby notified, that for every train 
fired upon, or soldier of the Union wounded or assassi- 
nated by bushwhackers in any neighborhood within the 
reach of my cavalry, the houses and other property of 
every Secession sympathizer, residing within a circuit 
of five miles from the place of the outrage, shall be de- 
stroyed by fire, and that for all public property jay- 
hawked or destroyed by these marauders, an assessment 
of five times the value of such property will be mado 
upon the Secession sympathizers residing within the cir- 
cuit of ten miles around the point at which the offence 
was committed. The payment of this assessment will 
be enforced by the troops of the department, who will 
seize and hold in close military custody the persons 
assessed, until such payment shall have been made. This 
provision will also be applied to make good, from the 
Secessionists in every neighborhood, five times the 
amount of any loss suffered by loyal citizens of the 
United States, from the action of the bushwhackers whom 
you may encourage. 

If you desire to avoid the consequences herein set 
forth, you will notify your guerrilla and bushwhacking 
friends to withdraw from that portion of the valley 
within my lines, and to join, if they desire to fight for 
the rebellion, the regular forces of the Secession army 
in my front, or elsewhere. You will have none but your- 
selves to blame for the consequences that will certainly 
ensue if these evils are permitted to continue. This cir- 
cular is not sent to you for the reason that you have been 
singled out as peculiarly obnoxious, but because you are 
believed to furnish the readiest means of communication 
with the prominent Secession svmpathizers of your neigh* 



238 APPROVAL OF THE BLACK FLAG. 

borhood. It will be for their benefit that you communi- 
cate to them the tenor of this circular. 

D. Hunter, 
Major-General commanding. 
Official copy.— P. G. Bier, A. A. G. 

This circular had its desired effect, for the next day 
after it was distributed the Secession sympathizers of the 
valley immediately gathered together, and waited upon 
the general, and offered their assistance and co-operation 
in detecting and catching these guerrillas and bush- 
whackers. It would be well to state here that the guer- 
rillas and bushwhackers are considered by the rebel 
government as part of their army, which is thereby 
responsible for their actions. It is a noted fact, when 
any of them are caught by the Federal army, they always 
claim to be a portion of the Confederate army, and they 
persist in being considered as prisoners of war. Their 
robberies, murders, and fiendish atrocities are all sanc- 
tioned by their government, and most probably ordered 
by them. 



APPROVAL OF THE BLACK FLAG. 

From a Kichmond correspondent of the Petersburg 
(Va.) Express : — 

The spring of hope must now, with the Yankees, die 
upon the winter winds. Already has the black flag been 
hoisted upon the soil of South Carolina, and. war to the 
knife, and the knife to the hilt, and thence to the shoul- 
der, been proclaimed by her noble sons as the only booty 
which Yankee hireling invaders shall receive at their 
hands. This is right — it is the only way to conquer a 



BARBARISM. 239 

peace with a people so lost and degraded as those which 
compose the grand army of the Kump Government. 

We look anxiously for news from the sunny South ; 
hopefully, prayerfully ; with no misgivings. Now that 
the rallying cry is "no quarter to the invaders of our 
soil," may we not believe that the course inaugurated by 
South Carolina will be followed up by our whole army, 
and thus end this war ? So mote it be. 



BARBARISM. 

The following correspondence between the Rebel Gen- 
eral Sam Jones and General J. G. Foster, of the Union 
army, will plainly show how far into barbarism the 
rebels have fallen. By the laws of civilized warfare it 
is justly required that prisoners of war should be treated 
humanely ; but the rebels, it will be seen from the fol- 
lowing correspondence, have disregarded all the dictates 
of humanity, and placed fifty prisoners, who were unfor- 
tunate enough to have fallen into their hands, in a posi- 
tion exposing them to the murderous fire of the Union 
guns. Such conduct, one would think, belonged to the 
savage : but the high-toned chivalry of the South have 
not hesitated to adopt it, and even to proclaim it aloud- 

Headquarters, Department South Carolina, Georgia and Florida 

Charleston, S. C, June 13, 1864. 

General : Five generals and forty-five field officers of 
the United States army, all of them prisoners of war 
have been sent to this city for safe-keeping. They hav« 
been turned over to Brigadier- General Ripley, command 
ing the first military district of this department, who will 
see that they are provided with commodious quarters in a 



240 BARBARISM. 

part of the city occupied by non-combatants, the majo- 
rity of whom are women and children. 

It is proper, however, that I should inform you that it 
is a part of the city which has been for many months 
exposed, day and night, to the fire of your guns. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Sam Jones, 
Major-General commanding. 
Major-General J. G. Foster, commanding U. S. Forces 
on Coast of South Carolina, C. S. 

REPLY OF GENERAL FOSTER. 

Headquarters, Department of the South, 
Hilton Head, S. C, June 16th, 1864. 

Major-General Sam. Jones, Com. Confederate Forces 
Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. 
General : I have to acknowledge the receipt, this 
day, of your communication of the 13th instant, inform- 
ing me that five generals and forty -five field officers of 
the United States army, prisoners of war, have been 
turned over by you to Brigadier-General Eipley, with 
instructions to see that they are provided with quarters 
in a part of the city occupied by non-combatants — the 
majority of which latter, you state, are women and 
children. You add, that you deem it proper to inform 
me that it is a part of the city which has been for many 
months exposed to the fire of our guns. 

Many months since, Major-General Gillmore, U. S. A. 
notified Gen. Beauregard, then commanding at Charles- 
ton, that the city would be bombarded. This notice was< 
given that non-combatants might be removed, and thus 
women and children be spared from harm. General 
Beauregard, in a communication to General Gillmore, 
dated August 22d, 1863, informed him that the non- 



BARBARISM. 241 

combatant population of Charleston would be removed 
with all possible celerity. 

That women and children have been since retained by 
you in a part of the city which has been for many months 
exposed to fire, is a matter to be decided by your own 
Seuse of humanity. 

I must, however, protest against your action in thus 
placing defenceless prisoners of war in a position exposed 
to constant bombardment. It is an indefensible act of 
cruelty, and can be designed only to prevent the con- 
tinuance of our fire upon Charleston. 

The city is a depot of military supplies. It contains 
not merely arsenals, but foundries, and factories for the 
manufacture of munitions of war. In its ship-yards, 
several armed iron-clads have been already completed 
while others are still upon the stocks in the course of 
construction. Its wharves, and banks of the river, on 
both sides of the city, are lined with batteries. To de- 
stroy these means of continuing the war, is, therefore 
our object and duty. 

You seek to defeat this effort, not by means known 
to honorable warfare, but by placing unarmed and help- 
less prisoners under fire. 

I have forwarded your communication to the Presi- 
dent, with the request that he will place in my custody 
an ^qual number of prisoners, of like grades, to be kept 
by me in positions exposed to the fire of your guns, so 
long as you continue the course stated in your communi- 
cation. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 
Your obedient servant, 

J. G. Foster, 
Major-General Commanding. 

Official — D. J. Mayer, A. A. G. 
Headquarters, June 21st ; 1864. 
21 



242 BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG. 



BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. 

Mere words are inadequate to depict the scene of 
desolation that reigns on every side at this place ; and 
the visitor, as he carefully threads his way through the 
main and cross streets, at many points, confronting the 
heaped-up debris of scores of fallen buildings, cannot 
fail to give the fullest expression of condemnation re- 
garding the act of vandalism on the part of the rebels in 
thus laying in ruins the beautiful village of Chambers- 
burg, while his heart goes out in involuntary sympathy 
with the hundreds of women and children, who have not 
only been for the time rendered houseless and homeless, , 
but, in many instances, bereft of all their earthly pos- 
sessions. To-night I grope my way through the smoul- 
dering ruins, and pause, in sad dismay, at the fearful 
picture of destruction and desolation that surround me, 
imagination summoning to my " mind's eye" the many 
peaceful firesides, from whose home-altars the Lares and 
Penates had so lately fled, affrighted by the rude glare 
of those flaming brands suddenly and pitilessly assault- 
ing their happy domains. In the centre of the town, on 
the main street, is an open space called lt The Diamond," 
on one side of which stand four marble columns, all that 
remains of the bank building. Opposite, appear the 
bare and blackened walls of the county court-house, 
with its heavy white columns and portico. On every 
side are the ruins of stores, warehouses, and elegant 
mansions, the greater portion of their stone and brick 
walls still standing, while heaps of ashes, with a few 
charred timbers, alone mark the sites of less pretentious 
dwellings. The rich and the poor suffered alike at the 
hands of the filthy horde, led by that prince of modern 




BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG, PENNA 



BURNING OF CUAMBERSBURG. 243 

freebooters, McCausland, and that aristocratic but de- 
generate scion of Maryland's soil, Harry Gilmore. 

Much lias already been said respecting the destruction 
of this picturesque valley-town, and much remains to be 
recorded. The people and press of the North generally, 
who have so freely condemned the citizens of Chambers- 
burg, reflecting upon their non-resistance of the armed 
force which sacked and burned their very homes, would, 
I believe, modify this verdict, and, it may be, retract 
their insinuations, could they, in this quiet burgh — ten- 
fold more eloquent itself in the abomination of desola- 
tion which reigns around — hearken to the tales of the 
sufferers. 

Dr. Richards, a prominent resident of the town, who, 
with his family, escaped as they ° stood," saving nothing, 
stated to me the fact that the entire valley had been 
completely sifted as wheat, to give its best to the army 
of the republic, and that Chambersburg had not a score 
of able-bodied fighting men. The women, even, had been 
forced to work to till the fields. No military organiza- 
tion existed there — no leader to command — no men to 
rally around his standard, had a head been found. No 
arms were at hand, except those in private possession ; 
we were ignorant of the forces to confront ; all was con- 
fusion ; we knew too well the ferocious character of the 
rebel band, and those who led them — and any show of 
resistance on our part, would have only resulted in our 
being slaughtered indiscriminately, thereby heightening 
the catastrophe. The few troops that were here, had 
been ordered away on Friday night, in search of the 
rebels. Two pieces of cannon were left. These were 
taken out at an early hour on Saturday morning, and 
fired at the advancing foe twice, and then removed to a 
place of safety. This firing was done more with a view 



244 • BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG. 

of giving Averill, should lie be in the vicinity, notice 
of the approach, of the enemy, than with a view of re- 
pulsing them. 

When McCausland and Gilmore, with their detach- 
ments, numbering altogether four or five hundred men, 
came into the town, we could plainly see their main 
column in line of battle on the hill beyond, with two 
pieces of cannon. We were powerless in their hands. I 
indignantly refused, he said, to comply with their demand 
for money, and told them they might sack and burn my 
property, but I would not give them a cent. 

Dr. Eichards told Gilmore, whom he knew by sight, 
that the money was a mere farce, and made only as an 
apparent pretext. Gilmore's reply was, " I tell you what 
it is, we came here out of our regular route with the sole 
purpose of burning your d — d town, in retaliation for 
Hnnter's raid in the Shenandoah Valley." 

From conversations with a few other prominent citi- 
zens, who still remained in the place, I learned that 
rumors had prevailed several days that the rebels were 
crossing the Potomac in force, but no one seemed to know 
where they were. About four o'clock, on Saturday morn- 
ing, it was reported that they were approaching, when 
Lieutenant McLain, with one piece of artillery, took a po- 
sition on New England Hill, and commenced shelling the 
enemy. As subsequently learned, the few shots that he 
fired were very effective, one officer being killed and 
five men wounded. Having no infantry support, he was 
obliged to retire. The rebels advanced, however, cau-i 
tiously ; their skirmishers entered the town by the side 
streets about six o'clock, and scattering in every direction. 

McCausland and Gilmore presently rode in, and went 
to the Franklin House, where they ordered breakfast. 
The morning meal hastily disposed of) and a quantity 



BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG. 245 

of the landlord's Bourbon freely discussed, they sallied 
forth, and after riding through several of the streets, 
drew rein in front of the County Court-House, McCaus- 
land ordering the "bell to be rung for a town meeting. 
There was no general response to the call, but to the few 
persons who were gathered in knots near by, anxiously 
watching the movements of the rebels. McCausland read 
the following order : — 

(No date or place.) 

A demand is hereby made upon the citizens of Cham- 
bersburg, Pennsylvania, for five hundred thousand dol- 
lars in United States Treasury notes, or one hundred 
thousand dollars in coin. General McCausland is autho- 
rized, on behalf of the Southern Confederacy, to receive 
the amount named. Should the demand not be complied 
with the town will be destroyed. 

Jubal Early, 
General Commanding. 

One of the citizens asked McCausland if he had any 
positive orders to burn the town, when he replied that 
he had, and, at the same time, pulled from his pocket a 
dirty slip of paper — part of which was subsequently 
picked up in the street — and read as follows : — 

In the Field (no date). 

General Orders. — General McCausland is hereby or- 
dered to burn the town of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, 
in retaliation for Hunter's raid in the Shenandoah Valley. 
By order. Jubal Early, 

General Commanding. 

"While this farce was being enacted, the men who 
accompanied McCausland and Gilmore were sacking 
private houses and stores, taking only money, jewelry, 
21* 



246 BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG. 

and such valuables as they could carry in their pockets. 
Dr. Richards, and a few other citizens who had been 
arrested, were discharged upon peremptorily refusing to 
give the freebooters any money. Orders were then 
issued by McCausland and Gilmore to burn the d — m 
town. The torch was first applied to the Bank and 
County Court-House, and in a few minutes both build- 
ings were enveloped in flames. The rebel soldiers, 
maddened by frequent potations of whiskey and other 
liquors, which they had found in the hotels and saloons, 
entered upon the work of destruction with evident de- 
light. In some instances, women were driven out of 
their houses before the premises were fired, and in others, 
no notice whatever was given. Many persons lived over 
their stores, and were only made aware of their peril by 
the smoke and crackling flames beneath their feet. The 
prominent public buildings destroyed were the Court- 
House, Bank, German Reformed Church, where the 
German Reformed Messenger and another German 
paper were printed, office of The Franklin Repository, 
owned by McClure & Storer, the office of the Valley 
Spirit (Copperhead), Franklin House, and other hotels. 
Fires were kindled in over fifty different places, and the 
total number of houses laid in ruins is calculated at two 
hundred and sixty-three. Women were ordered by the 
drunken soldiers to throw away small packages of 
clothing. 

The residence of Colonel Alexander K. McClure, half 
a mile from the town, was visited by a rebel guard, and 
fired in several places. His barn and out-houses were 
also destroyed, and the place left desolate. Mrs. McClure, 
though sick, was driven from the house, and not per- 
mitted to save any of her clothing. Gilmore, who was 
attired in citizen's dress, rode carelessly about the town, 



: 



BURNING OF CHAMBEESBURG. 247 

switching from side to side a long carriage-whip. lie 
bore no mark to designate his so-called rank of Major. 
A gentleman who knew him, said that he was much 
bloated, and, to use his own expression, "both Gilmore 
and McCausland looked as if they had been soaked in 
whiskey. I could not say they were drunk — only 
soaked." 

Dr. J. L. Suesserot, a prominent and wealthy citizen 
of the place, succeeded by his individual exertions in 
saving not only his dwelling, office, and stable, but that 
portion of the town lying south and south-west of Main 
and Washington Greets. Twice the rebels effected an 
entrance to his house, and were busying themselves 
breaking up a case of amputating instruments, when one 
of the officers with whom the Doctor had been talking, 
came up and drove them away. Money was demanded 
from the Doctor, but he refused to give a cent to the 
soldiers, and several times drove them away from his 
stable and fences, which they tried to scale. Each time 
his friend, whose name he did not know, and whom he 
had never before seen, came to the rescue and ordered 
them to leave. 

I am credibly informed that, in addition to the work 
of pillaging and burning the houses, outrages of a worse 
nature were attempted by the rebel brutes. 

No estimate* has yet been made of the loss, though it 
is believed over a million of dollars will be required to 
replace the buildings. The loss on household property 
and the contents of stores will not fall short of a million 
and a half. As I passed through the town this morning, 
I saw several persons putting up temporary structures, 
and preparing to recommence business. 

I give you here the statements of several gentlemen in 
regard to the sacking and burning of the town. 



248 BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG. 

STATEMENT OP DR. RICHARDS. 

Soon after the rebels had entered the town, I was stand- 
ing outside of my door, when a Mr. Douglas came up 
and said that he had just seen McCausland, and had told 
him to call some of the prominent citizens of the village 
together. He demanded five hundred thousand dollars 
in greenbacks, or one hundred thousand dollars in coiD, 
and said if it was not paid, he would burn the place. I 
was perfectly indignant at such a demand, and said I 
would not give a cent' if they sacked and burned my 
property. Douglas remarked : " Thej'll put the thumb- 
screws to us, doctor. McCausland's in earnest, for 1 saw 
it in his face." I paid no more attention to the matter, 
but set out to see my patients. Between seven and eight 
o'clock I met Mr. Thomas Kennedy, and while talking 
with him was arrested. They also arrested J. Mc- 
Dowell Sharp, William H. McDowell, William McClel- 
lan. and Mr. Kennedy. 

At this moment Harry Gilmore rode up and said: 
" Gentlemen, you are my prisoners, and I shall take you 
to Libby Prison, as you have made no response to the 
call for five hundred thousand dollars levied by General 
Early." He then called for a guard to conduct us to 
the Court House. Knowing him by sight, I said, 
"Gilmore, I wish you to understand, that we are gentle- 
men, and that our word is as good as your guards. We 
will go with you without a guard." He said he sup- 
posed it was, but a guard was customary. We accom- 
panied him to the Court House, and there he was joined by 
McCausland, who repeated the order of Early, demanding 
five hundred thousand dollars in greenbacks, or one hun- 
dred thousand dollars in coin. Some of the citizens had 
previously I understood, asked to see the order, when 



BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG. 249 

McCausland read it, and also another order to burn the 
town. I did not see them or hear them read. 

After a short parley between McCausland and Gilmore, 
the latter said : u Gentlemen, you are released." Walk- 
ing up to him, I put my hand upon his horse's mane, 
and said, "Gilmore, you knew that your demand foi 
the money is ridiculous nonsense. The county alone 
could not pay it, let alone this village." Straightening 
himself up in his saddle, he said, with an ostentatious 
air : " I'll tell you what it is ; we came out of our regular 
route, with the sole purpose of burning your d — d town 
in retaliation for what Hunter did in the Shenandoah 
Valley." He then galloped off, and superintended the 
firing of the Court House and Bank. My daughter escaped 
with only one change of clothing, and I saved only what 
I had on my back. Everybody in the place would have 
gladly joined in resisting the rebels, but we could have 
done nothing against such an armed band of cut-throats 
and thieves. The country has been so literally drained 
of young men, that women and children had to go into the 
fields. We had no arms, and even if we had, we would 
have been indiscriminately slaughtered, and our families 
left to the mercy of the brutal horde. 

The town was fired in at least fifty places, and it is my 
belief, that they designed burning the village, whether or 
not the demand for money was complied with. I never 
before saw men act with such fiendishness, and gloat 
over the misfortunes of the women and children ren- 
dered houseless and homeless by their vandalism. The 
entire scene was the most horrible that I have ever wit- 
nessed. The screams of women and children, the yells 
of the drunken soldiers, and the roaring and crackling of 
the burning buildings, were terrible. In many instances, 
women were compelled to throw down small bundles 



250 BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG. 

containing only clothing, and several of those packages 
I saw the rebels toss into the flames, swearing that no- • 
thing should be taken away. 

STATEMENT OP THE HON. JUDGE KIMMELL. 

I reside in West Market street, nearly in the heart of 
the town. It was known the day before (Friday), that t 
the rebels had crossed the river at Mercersburg, fifteen i 
miles south-west of the town. But we were all lulled I 
into a false security by the fact that, when Stuart and 
Lee invaded the State before, strict orders were given 
not to molest private property of citizens. As a conse- 
quence, we rested quite easy, not dreaming that they 
would burn our houses, and drive us mercilessly from 
our homes. The citizens generally, were prepared to • 
have their places of business pillaged. A little before 
six o'clock on Saturday morning, having heard some 
shells whizzing through the town, I went out on to my 
front stoop, and was there joined by a neighbor. In 
about half an hour thereafter, or less time, perhaps, two 
men emerged from an alley next to my house, when Mrs* 
Achenbach, another neighbor, who was standing by, 
thinking them citizens, asked if they were fleeing. 
Their answer was an oath and a coarse laugh. I re- 
marked. " Those are rebels." At this moment, I heard 
the clanking of arms, and looking eastward, saw a body 
of mounted infantry and cavalry marching into the 
town. As near as I can judge, there were between four 
and five hundred men. 

I then went to u upper chamber of my house, for I 
the purpose of securing some valuable papers, and, 
while so engaged, I heard the rebels say as they passed, 
that they were going to burn the town. At seven and 
a half o'clock, I looked out, and saw a new three story 



BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG. 251 

building opposite in flames. Several men approached, 
and I heard one tell Mrs. Achenbach, to get out of the 
way, as they were going to fire her house. Her prayers 
and entreaties for time to collect a few articles of cloth- 
ing, were of no avail. With my daughter, who had got 
a change of apparel, I started out the back way, and 
conducted her to a place of safety, on a hill, from which 
position I distinctly saw the rebels dashing in a fiendish 
manner through the streets, and firing the houses. 
Women with children, each carrying little packages of 
clothing, were fleeing in every direction. The sight 
was fearful, and the horrible scene chilled my blood. 
The day was clear, and calm, but the burning houses 
created a draught, and the roar was prodigious. Pickets 
were stationed at the street corners, to prevent the people 
from even attempting to save their property. From 
intimations that we had of their approach the night 
previous, it was deemed prudent to remove all the 
records from the County Court House, and the books and 
money from the bank. I passed through the picket-line 
unmolested, though many citizens were driven back. 
Had no conversation with any of the crowd. 

Finding that I could not save any of the burning pro- 
perty, I returned to the hill, and remained there until 
the rebels left. The citizens would willingly have joined 
in defending the place, but we had no arms and no leader, 
and moreover felt that it would, unless aided by some 
organized military body, have been uselessly sacrificing 
ourselves to have gone out against this band of cut- 
throats, thieves, and incendiaries. We were informed 
that the main force of rebels, two thousand five hundred 
strong, were drawn up in line of battle on one of the 
hills beyond the town ready for any emergency. In my 
opinion the demand for money was a mere pretext. I 
believe they intended destroying the town in the outset, 



252 BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG. 

STATEMENT OF MR. CHARLES H. TAYLOR. 

I reside on Main street, and am connected with the 
bank. About five o'clock on Saturday morning the 
rebels threw a skirmish-line about the town, and while 
advancing complimented us with a few shells, which hap- 
pily did no damage. Upon entering, McCausland or 
Gilmore, who led the party, which was between four and 
five hundred strong, caused the town bell to be rung, 
but the citizens failed to respond. They then arrested 
Dr. Eichards and several other prominent citizens, and 
read to them a requisition signed by Jubal Early, de- 
manding five hundred thousand dollars in greenbacks, 
or one hundred thousand dollars in coin. They refused 
to comply; whereupon another order was produced to 
burn the town, both being signed by Early. I believe 
it was their intention to burn the town, whether the mo- 
ney was paid or not, as while they were reading the 
orders many of their men were gathering material to 
burn the buildings. Soon after this the town was fired 
in upwards of fifty different places. On the main street 
many families lived over their stores, but received no 
intimation whatever of the burning, except in finding 
fires kindled on the lower floor, and the upper part of 
their premises filled with smoke. Women, while escaping 
with their children, were ordered by the brutal soldiers 
to lay down little packages containing clothing. Men 
were robbed in the streets of watches, money, penknives, 
and other small articles. All were compelled to empty 
their pockets. I remained until nine o'clock, and as- 
sisted some ladies in removing their clothing. The scene 
was terrible. 

STATEMENT OF SAMUEL SEIBERT. 

Mr. Seibert says they first heard of the rebels at Clear 
Springs, and at another point on Friday. Next heard 



BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG. 253 

of them at Shunkstown, and then at Mercersburg, whence 
they came, as we subsequently learned, via Bridgeport 
and St. Thomas. About two o'clock on Saturday morn- 
ing we got word that they were advancing upon us. 
Some of our men went out with two cannon on the hill, 
and fired twice, killing one and wounding five of the 
invaders. In two hours thereafter the rebels entered the 
town, about five hundred strong. McCausland inquired 
for the town council, but none of them were to be found. 
The bell was rung for a meeting, but the citizens made 
no response. An order from Early was read to several 
citizens, demanding five hundred thousand dollars in 
United States notes, or one hundred thousand dollars 
in coin, and in the event of its not being paid the town 
was to be burned. They would not allow anybody, that 
I could see, to put out the fire. 

In my opinion it will take from a million to a million 
and a half to replace the buildings that have been de- 
stroyed. There were, as near as can be calculated, two 
hundred and sixty-three houses, stores, and dwellings 
laid in ruins. While standing at the gate, between my 
house and the carpenter's shop, a fellow rode up and de- 
manded one hundred dollars. I told him I hadn't got 
it ; when he asked for fifty dollars, then ten dollars, and 
five dollars, and compelled me to turn my pockets inside 
out. lie finally asked me for a box of matches, at the 
same time looking toward my shop, and upon being re- 
fused rode off. There is no doubt but that they intended 
burning the town, money or no money ; for I knew seve- 
ral men whose houses were fired after they had paid from 
fifty to one hundred dollars to have them saved harm- 
less. 

Many instances of individual bravery occurred during 
22 



254: BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG. 

the raging of the conflagration, a few of which I will 
narrate. 

Miss Mary Black, daughter of Judge Black, a fine girl 
of eighteen summers, having packed up a bundle of 
slothing, threw it over her shoulder, and left the house. 
A few steps distant she was confronted by a fellow who 
presented a pistol, and told her to lay down her load, as 
it was too .heavy for her to carry. Looking at the man 
an instant, she said, " What's that to you ?" and quickly 
drawing a revolver from the folds of her dress, she 
knocked the pistol from his hand, and passed on without 
further molestation. 

Mr. A. J. Miller, keeping a drug store on Main street, 
was engaged putting some valuable drugs into the vault 
of his cellar, and had just laid away his watch and mo- 
ney, when a rebel confronted him, and demanded his 
valuables. Seeing the property lying on the shelf, the 
fellow helped himself without further parley, and marched 
off. Mr. Miller then repaired to the garret with the in- 
tention of rescuing, if possible, a dog which he highly 
prized, the affrighted animal having fled thither. Being 
unsuccessful, he returned to his store, taking with him a 
double-barrelled shot-gun, heavily loaded. Upon enter- 
ing he saw two fellows who had accidentally locked 
themselves in, and dropped the key. Without ado he 
fired upon one, who was groping about the floor for the 
key, killing him instantly ; the other rebel ran for the 
back-door, and was about escaping, when Miller gave 
him the contents of the second barrel, and left him bleed- 
ing on the floor. The building was soon after fired, and 
the bodies of both rebels were consumed in the flames. 
Mr. Miller, in effecting his escape, came near being 
crushed by a falling wall. 

A young lady, whose name I could not learn, wrapped 



BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG. 255 

an American flag about her person and pistol in hand, 
defied any man to enter her house. By her determina- 
tion she saved the building in which she resided, and the 
adjoining property. 

Mrs-. Watson, after extinguishing two fires which had 
been kindled in her house, drove the rebels out with a 
broomstick. Presently, however, they returned, and pur- 
suing her to an upper room, secured her between a bed- 
stead and the wall, then locking the door after them, they 
again fired the building. Some women, hearing Mrs. 
Watson's screams, broke open the door, and with great 
difficulty rescued her from her perilous position. 

Shearer Howser, a returned soldier, and one who had 
been employed as a Union scout, ran up to one of the 
rebels, and with a " How are you ?" grasped the fellow's 
hand, but before he responded to the salutation, Howser 
had secured his carbine, and ordered him to dismount. 
The fellow, not caring to have his head blown off so un- 
ceremoniously, exchanged places with Howser, and was 
driven off a prisoner to a neighboring village. Howser 
returned in the afternoon with horse, carbine, and the 
rebel's clothes, which were new, and a large roll of green- 
backs, much elevated at his success. 

Not the least active among the incendiaries was Captain 
Smith, son of Ex-Grovernor Smith, better known as Extra 
Billy Smith. He was observed by many people, going 
from house to house, applying the match, and scoffing 
at defenceless and homeless women, as they passed him 
in search of a retreat from the flames. It will be remem- 
bered that his father's property has always been pro- 
tected by the Union troops. 

After the departure of the main body of rebels in the 
afternoon, a major with seven men returned to the town, 
the officer swearing that not a house should be left, and 



256 BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG. 

that he would carry out General Early's order to the 
letter. He didn't care for McCausland or Gilmore, and 
should finish their incomplete work. The party was 
attacked by a number of citizens, and the men captured. 
The major, whose name, from some papers found in his 
pocket, is supposed to be Cook, was shot in twenty-five 
different places about the body before he fell. The 
prisoners were taken to Harrisburg under a strong 
guard. 

One of the rebel soldiers was so incensed at the out- 
rageous conduct of his companions, that he resolved to 
escape, and with the aid of a gentleman to whom he 
made known his desire, succeeded in getting away. He 
took no part with them in the burning of the buildings. 
Other honorable exceptions of like character I heard of 
— one man saying, " The Yanks had never committed so 
mean an act, and that it would damn the Confederacy." 

From Dr. Trout I learn that the rebels, after leaving 
Chambersburg, visited McConnellsburg, arriving be- 
tween four and five P. M., and remaining there until six 
the next day. Here they committed numerous outrages, 
stripping men naked in the streets, taking others out to 
hang them for not telling where their horses were, and 
robbing every one they met. There was evidently some 
trouble between McCausland and General Bradley, as 
they took different roads. Dr. Trout heard many ex- 
pressions of indignation among the soldiers at the burn- 
ing of Chambersburg, and one man said he'd never draw 
trigger again for the Confederacy if they burned another 
town, &c. We are indebted to the New York Tribune 
Association for this well-authenticated statement. 



BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG. 257 



AN APPEAL TO THE BENEVOLENT CITIZENS OF THE NORTH. 

On the morning of the 30th of July, 1864, the rebels 
under the command of General McCausland, with a force 
of about five hundred men, entered Chambersburg, 
Pennsylvania, and demanded five hundred thousand 
dollars from the citizens, under a threat of burning the 
town. This requisition was in writing, and signed by 
General Jubal Early. 

It is now established by indisputable proof, that this 
demand was a mere pretext, on the part of the maraud- 
ers, to cover up a purpose, formed before they reached 
the town, to burn it to the ground without giving any 
time to remove the private property, and scarcely time 
enough for the citizens to remove their families. 

They fired the houses of our citizens in perhaps fifty 
places. Upwards of two hundred and fifty in the heart 
of the town were consumed, including all the public 
buildings, stores, and hotels, comprising about two- thirds 
of a town containing six thousand inhabitants. Thus a 
large body of citizens are reduced from comparative 
wealth to absolute" poverty. These families have lost all 
their bedding, and all their clothing except what they 
had on their persons. 

The loss will be largely over one million dollars. 
Without aid from abroad, there will be great suffering 
in our community. 

The Rev. John R. Warner, of Gettysburg, providen- 
tially with us at this time, is the accredited agent of the 
citizens for receiving subscriptions and contributions for 
our relief. 

F. M. KlMMELL, 

Bernard Wolff, and many others. 
22* 



258 SUFFERINGS OF UNION MEN 



SUFFERINGS OF UNION MEN IN TEXAS. 

According to the uniform testimony of refugees, the 
outrages perpetrated by the rebels on the Union men of 
Texas, exceed description, and, if narrated, would seem i 
incredible to such as have not been eye-witnesses. 

Mr. Sumner said, in a speech delivered in New York i 
City, that he was originally from Yermont, and emi- 
grated to the South ten years ago ; since which time he ' 
has lived in the town of Sherman, Grayson county, 
Texas. During the Presidential canvass, the supporters 
of Breckinridge, in that vicinity, claimed to be the only 
true Union men. But, after the election of President I 
Lincoln, they threw off the mask and hoisted the lone- 
star flag. Mr. Sumner suggested to the people of his 
town to raise the stars and stripes in opposition. He 
met so much opposition that he thought he would give 
it up ; but thinking the matter over, he bought the ma- 
terials at a dry-goods store, and his wife made a flag. 
On the 1st of January, 1861, they hoisted it upon the 
square, and called upon the Union people to rally around 
it ; and in less than half an hour it was flying over the 
court-house, and they took an oath that the first man 
who raised his hand against it they would blow his 
brains out. The rebels, seeing that they were deter- 
mined, sought to compromise the matter, and^promised 
to permit the flag to remain if the Union men would 
permit the lone-star to float beside it. Thinking that 
this would be the means of avoiding bloodshed, it was 
allowed on the part of the Unionists, and both flags 
flew undisturbed till the wind completely whipped 
them out. 

Subsequently, the rebel mob at Austin called a Con- 



IN TEXAS. 259 

venticn to pass a Secession ordinance ; and were only 
prevented by Sam. Houston, who declared it should be 
submitted to a vote of the people. Grayson county gave 
: a respectable majority for the Union, but in many parts 
of the State the Secessionists had the polls guarded with 
i men armed with double-barrel shot guns, who swore 
they would shoot any man who voted the d — d Abolition 
ticket, as they called the Union ticket. Not satisfied 
with that, they marched men up to the polls and com- 
: pelled them to vote the Secession ticket, although they 
did it under protest. Texas was declared to have gone 
: out of the Union by some ten thousand majority. The 
i rebels then hoisted the stars and bars. 
I Two papers were published in Sherman, one a Union 
and the other a Secession sheet. Discussion grew quite 
; hot ; and finally the Union office was broken into, and 
the main lever of the press stolen. This so enraged the 
Union people, that the next morning they went and tore 
down the Secesh flag, and stamped it into the ground. 
Two days after, one hundred rebels came marching into 
town, with double-barrel shot guns, to put up the flag. 
But being advised that if they attempted it, blood would 
be shed, they desisted ; and as long as the speaker re- 
mained in Texas, no flag floated from that court-house. 
Mr. Sumner alluded to the fact that two Methodist 
preachers, Buly and Blunt, were hung as Abolitionists. 
Houses were burned by rebel incendiaries, for the pur- 
pose of exciting the people against the North by 
alleging that it was done by Abolitionists, leagued se- 
cretly together, to avenge the murder of the two Metho- 
dist ministers of Kansas. 

James Bolan was appointed Provost-Marshal — a man 
who had often remarked that a poor white man had no 
more right to vote in the South than his slave. He 



260 SUFFERINGS OF UNION MEN 

waged war and robbery on the Union people. There 
was a family named Hillier, from the North. Mr. 
Hillier was waited upon by Bolan, and was allowed the 
choice to volunteer in the rebel army or prepare to be < 
hung. He volunteered. Subsequently, his wife incau- . 
tiously remarked, " She wished to God the Union army j 
would advance and take possession of Texas, that her 
husband might return and provide for his family." Bo- 1 
Ian sent six of his men, dressed in women's clothes, who 
informed her that they had heard she was an Abolitionist, 
and had come to wait upon her execution. They drag- 
ged her to the nearest tree, and, regardless of her plead- 
ings for mercy, to spare her life for the sake of her in- 
nocent children, they put a rope around her neck, swung 
her up, and left her in her death-struggles, in the pre- 
sence of her terrified little ones, till next morning, 
when some of the neighbors took down the body and 
buried it. 

This act caused the citizens to feel alarmed, and three 
or four hundred leagued together for self-defence. 
About the 1st of October they were betrayed, and 
Jacob Lock, the President, was arrested. A courier i 
came down to Sherman and stated that he (Lock) had 
been hung. Mr. Sumner could only rally eight men to 
go and release some men that Bolan had in custody. 
They rode all night, and were within eight miles of Bo- 
lan's place, in Cook county, the next morning. There 
they met a man hid in the woods, who informed them 
that Bolan had five hundred men under his command, 
who swore they would never rest till they had hung 
every Union man in Texas ; that he had thirty or forty 
Union men, who would be hung that day. 

Mr. Sumner returned home, and as soon as he could 
arrange his affairs started for the Union lines. Mr. 



IN TEXAS. 2G1 

Sumner met with many adventures, but escaped his pur 
suers, and considered himself nearly safe, till he arrived 
at Leroy county, Arkansas, where he met a Texas recruit 
whom he had known before. This soldier reported Mr. 
Sumner to headquarters. He was arrested on the 29th 
of October, 1862, and sent to Little Kock. General 
Holmes turned him over to the provost-marshal, and or- 
dered him to be locked up in an iron cage. He was the 
only white man put into the cage. The others had "the 
liberty of the prison." 

Some time afterwards, nineteen young men, who had 
belonged to Hart's Texan company, who had been cut 
off from their comrades, were brought and put in the 
cages. One, who had been forced into the Rebel ranks, 
and whom they claimed as a deserter, was hung. The 
rest were put into iron cages, which were originally made 
for negroes. Their irons were taken off. 

In a few weeks disease began its work. The jailor 
told General Rema, if they were not taken out of the 
cages they would die. The General said, " Let them die 
I and go to hell ; they are only Yankee jayhawkers." In 
f about three or four months the prisoners were asked to 
volunteer in the rebel army, " to make good soldiers, and 
| redeem their character." Some volunteered, others 
; chose to endure the privations of prison, rather than it 
i should ever be said of them, that they rose in arms 
against their country. Finally, when the Union cannon 
I were within sound of Little Rock, Mr. Sumner and an 
old man were released, to go home, on the representa- 
! tions of the jailor, that they were not in physical con- 
| dition to be of any use in the army ; Mr. Sumner went 
to the Union lines. He described the stocks and instru- 
ments of torture which were applied, as horrible in the 
extreme; they compelled him to sustain a weight of 



262 SUFFERINGS OF UNION MEN 

forty pounds, to keep him from choking. When a man 
became exhausted and fell senseless, the common restora- - 
tive was the whip, which the rebels said was " the best ! 
means of starting the circulation of the blood." 

An old man, who was dying, requested to have his 
son, who was also a prisoner, with him during his last \ 
moments. But his keeper said, " If you want to die, 
why can't you die, and not make such a fuss about it ?" 
The old man was compelled to conceal his groans as best ; 
he could, and soon after expired. A prisoner who passed 
the cell of his son a few days after, whispered through 
the gates that his father was dead. The son was soon 
found shedding tears. They said they would give him 
something to cry for, and gave him seventy-five lashes. 
After alluding to like and worse instances of fiendish 
cruelty, the speaker asked how men who had been 
treated in that way, could go back and live with those 
who had practised upon them such barbarities, until 
justice had been meted out to them. Until the rebellion 
broke out, he was a pro-slavery man, but it was certain, 
that we could never have peace, until the cause of the 
rebellion — slavery — was destroyed. 

Said Judge Baldwin of Texas, in a speech delivered 
in Washington, D. C, October 3, 1864: You can 
scarcely form an idea of the wrongs inflicted on the 
Union men of Texas. They surpass in cruelty the hor- 
rors of the Inquisition. In that State, from two to three 
thousand men have been hung, in many cases without 
even the form of a trial, simply and solely because they 
were Union men, and would not give their support to 
Secession. Indeed, it has been, and is, the express 
determination of the Secessionists, to take the life of 
every Union man. His life is no more regarded than 
that of a wild beast, and he is shot down or hung with- 



IN TEXAS. 263 

out ceremony. Nor are the Secessionists always particu- 
: lar to ascertain what a man's real sentiments are. It 
sis sufficient for them, that a man is a d — d Yankee. 

A Massachusetts man, at the commencement of the 
i rebellion was procuring subscriptions for Audubon's 
, Ornithology. As he was passing along one day, some 
one dropped the remark, " There goes a d — d Yankee," 
whereupon the bystanders took after him, seized and 
ihung him, although affirming his innocence, and claiming 
i to have done or said nothing against the South. Soon 
after, a gentleman passing by, and seeing what had been 
,done, inquired, " Why have you hung that man? I know 
him well. He was no abolitionist." " No matter," said his 
murderers, " he was a d — d Yankee." 

One day a Secessionist said to the Governor of Texas, 
" There is Andrew Jackson Hamilton, suppose I kill the 
d — d Unionist." Said the Governor, " kill him or any 
other Unionist, and you need fear nothing while I am 
.governor." In this way has been produced that utter 
disregard' of the lives of Union men so prevalent at the 
South. 

As I was passing through one place in Texas, I saw 
three men who had been hung in the course of the night. 
.When I inquired the cause, I was told in the coolest 
i manner, that it was to be presumed that they were Union 
men. It seemed to be taken for granted, that all Union 
men were to be hung, and the hanging of them was 
spoken of as an ordinary affair. 

Judge Baldwin said further — He had heard a great 
ideal, since his arrival from rebeldom, of the habeas 
; corpus and free speech ; but he could assure his audience, 
;he had seen little of either in Texas. For long months 
i he had "been confined in a loathsome dungeon without 
1 trial, without even knowing the charge against him, and 



264 CRUELTY TO AN OHIO SOLDIER. 

upon remonstrating, had the consolation of learning, 
that it was a " d — d sight too good for an abolitionist." 

On the 9th of October, 1863, I was waited upon by a 
Confederate officer, who said to his squad of soldiers :~ 
"There's your prisoner, take good care of him; if he: 
attempts to escape shoot him." No explanation wast 
given for my arrest, nor was I permitted to communicate' 
with my family and friends, but the next day was hurried 
off to San Antonio, where I was thurst into a dungeon, the i 
air of which was so foul, that you could cut it with a knife. 
I remained in prison ten months, suffering every species 
of horror. But I thank God, that the shackles are now 
broken, and I can look once more on the flag of my 
country and enjoy its protection. 

On my way to San Antonio, I was informed by the 
officer in charge, that I was in danger of being lynched 
by the populace. I said to him, " If you allow any such 
thing you are a coward, and I will haunt you as long as 
you live." This, I believe, saved my life. 

General A. J. Hamilton affirmed in a Union- meeting, 
in the Cooper Institute, New York, in 1863, that two 
hundred men were hung in Texas during the canvass for 
the Presidency in 1860, because they were suspected of 
being more loyal to the Union than to slavery. 



CRUELTY TO AN OHIO SOLDIER. 

A soldier belonging to the Forty-fourth Ohio Regi- 
ment, which was then stopping at Sandy, Virginia,' 
having just recovered from a severe sickness, was on his 
way down the Sandy Valley, to join his regiment. As 
he was passing leisurely along, he was surprised by a 



INTENDED WHOLESALE MURDER. 265 

party of rebels, who rushed upon him and robbed him 
of the last cent he had, and also of all his clothing. After 
this, they took him oft* a short distance, and compelled 
him to stand np, saying they were not going to kill him, 
but were only going to wound him a little. "When every- 
thing was in readiness, they fired at him with his own 
gun, wounding him so seriously in his leg, below the 
knee, that at one time amputation was thought necessary 
to preserve his life.* 



HORRIBLE MURDER OF A SAILOR. 

On or about the 5th of September, 1862, as one cf 
!Admiral Farragut's men was wandering very impru- 
dently along the shore, a few miles below Yicksburg, 
Mississippi, a party of guerrillas, belonging to the same 
State, who were waiting in ambush, rushed upon him. 
They carried him a short distance from the shore, and 
actually disembowelled him while still alive. This state- 
ment comes from both prisoners and deserters, known to 
ba perfectly truthful.f 



AN INTENDED WHOLESALE MURDER. 

As a freight train on the Covington and Lexington 
Railroad was passing by Garnett's Station, on the night 
pf the 19th of April, 1862, it was precipitated down a 

* T. L. Moore. 

t Joseph P. Evans, of Jackson, Mississippi. 

23 



266 GUERRILLA BARBARITIES IN VIRGINIA. 

steep embankment by obstructions laid on the track by 
some rebel fiend or fiends, thinking that a portion of the 
troops, who were expected to pass over the road that 
night, would be precipitated down the embankment, and 
a great many be killed and wounded, and that by so 
doing, they would aid the cause of the rebels; but 
through the good providence of God, the troops did not 
go that night. As it was, Henry D. Smith, engineer, 
and Abraham Tanner, brakesman, were instantly killed, 
and the locomotive and eleven cars dashed to pieces.* 



GUERRILLA BARBARITIES IN VIRGINIA. 

On or about the 19th of July, 1863, a? two Federal 
soldiers were sauntering along the road, within a half 
mile of their camp, which was near Laura, Virginia, they 
were pounced upon by a party of guerrillas, who took 
them into the woods until they thought they were be- 
yond reach of interference, tied them to a tree, and bid 
them good-by, saying, " that they meant to do them no 
harm, only to let them starve to death." One of them, 
by a desperate effort, succeeded in freeing himself, and 
when free, set about liberating his brother soldier. This 
done, both started for camp, determined not to be caught 
in another such trap. A few days afterwards, several 
soldiers were fired at as they were passing by the woods, 
but escaped uninjured. These attempts at murder were 
committed by the rebel sympathizing citizens in the 
neighborhood.! 

* W. B. Jones, of Louisville, Kentucky, 
f J. C. Stubbs, of Pennsylvania. 



RAISING THE BLACK FLAG. 267 



RAISING THE BLACK FLAG. 

Reply of Colonel Paine to a letter of General John C. 
Breckinridge, C. S. A., in which he alleges the perpetra- 
tion of acts of violence by our forces, and threatens, in 
certain contingencies, to raise the black flag, and neither 
ask nor take quarter : — 

Headquarters, U. S. Forces, 
Baton Rouge, August 14th, 1862. 

Major-General John C. Breckenriclge, C. S. A. 

General: In reply to your communication of this 
date, I have the honor to make the following statement : 

None of the acts therein referred to, have been com- 
mitted, to my knowledge, in this part of the United 
States, under the order of our officers. 

No private houses have been wantonly burned. Since 
your attack of the 5th instant disclosed your purpose to 
drive this army from the public property of the United 
States, I have determined to adopt such measures as will 
enable me, in strict accordance with the laws of civilized 
warfare, to maintain my present position. The accom- 
plishment of this purpose compels me reluctantly to burn 
a small number of houses, including those of the United 
States Government and of private persons. While it is 
not impossible that, through mistake, injustice may have 
been done in individual cases, and although the vigilance 
of officers may not always suffice to prevent wrong on 
the part of subordinates, yet I believe that no unarmed 
citizen has been seized or carried into imprisonment on 
false or frivolous pretexts. No negro slaves have been 
armed against you in this department. I have no in- 
formation respecting the order alleged to have been 
issued to the Mayor of Bayou Sara. 



263 FIRING ON SHIPWRECKED SAILORS. 

In future I shall permit no wanton destruction of pri- i 
vate property. I shall permit no unarmed citizen to be' 
seized on false and frivolous pretexts. I shall not armi 
negroes, unless in accordance with the laws of the United 
States. But I am informed that a corps of blacks fought 
against us in the recent battle of Baton Rouge, and that 
our pickets were found tied to the trees, shot through the* 
head. And I am sorry to remind you that a most bar- 
barous system of guerrilla warfare is authorized by your 
officers and practised by yonr men in this department. 
While we saved your drowning men at Memphis, you 
shot ours at White Eiver. I am informed, too, that oc- 
casionally you have raised the black flag at the com- 
mencement of- an action. Nevertheless, I shall never 
raise the black flag, which all civilized nations abhor, 
but I shall try to maintain the flag which yon have so 
often promised to defend. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

H albert B. Paine, 
Colonel commanding U. S. Forces 



FIRING ON SHIPWRECKED SAILORS. 






On Wednesday, January 14th, 1863, as the Unitec 
States steamer " Columbia" was returning from the fish 
ing grounds to her old anchorage, near New Inlet, South 
Carolina, at 6 o'clock p. M., when within twelve miles of 
her destination, she was wrecked in the following man- 
ner : She was steaming along near the shore when the 
acting-master, in charge of the deck, sent word to th( 
captain, who was below, that they were only in tei 
fathoms of water, and near the shore. The captain senl 



FIRING ON" SHIPWRECKED SAILORS. 269 

word back not to drop anchor until she was in seven 
fathoms of water. 

Shortly after the captain appeared on deck, and had 
been but a short time, when Acting-Master Morse, who 
; was in the forecastle, cried out, " White water ahead !" 
' The captain immediately ordered the engine to be re- 
; versed, but before this could be done, the ship struck 
' hard and fast on a sand-bank. The yards were braced 
1 around and set on the foremast, in hopes of getting her 
oft* ; a portion of the coal in bags was thrown into the 
1 sea, but she still stood immovable ; as the last resort the 
• engines were brought into requisition, but they soon be- 
came out of order, by a large quantity of sand getting 
into the boiler, and all hopes of getting* her afloat van- 
ished. The captain ordered a boat to be lowered, and 
; sent in search of some vessel of the blockading fleet. 
The boat was in charge of Acting Ensign Williams and 
ten men. At twelve o'clock, the ship continuing to pound 
and thump very heavy, the foremast was cut away, which 
somewhat eased her. At daybreak, Thursday, January 
15th, the small boat, with Acting-Ensign Williams, ap- 
peared in sight, about three miles from the ship, and the 
hopes of the distressed crew began to fail them ; they 
then sent up rockets, and fired signal-guns, but received 
no response. At 10 o'clock A. M. a shout of " Sail ho !" 
thrilled every heart, as it came ringing from above, and a 
cheering prospect of escape gleamed before them. As 
soon as the sail was distinctly made out, the signal-guns 
! were again fired, when the unknown vessel made for the 
wreck. The rescuer proved to be the United States 
gunboat Penobscot, which anchored very near the ship, 
right on the edge of the breakers. At three o'clock the 
1 Penobscot's boat came alongside of the ship, and took a 
I line out to her launch, at anchor, between the two ships. 
23* 



270 FIRING ON SHIPWRECKED SAILORS. 

The u Columbia" then commenced to send the crew, one 
by one, on a life-line to the launch. Up to dark they 
had rescued thirty-two men ; during Thursday night the 
wind increased to a gale, and the sea made a clear breach 
over the ship, and she pounded and thumped fearfully. 
About midnight Acting-Master Balch sent word to the 
men to look out for themselves, that the ship was going 
to pieces. 

During the night the Penobscot sailed further out, for 
fear of being wrecked ; she made signs to the distressed 
vessel, but they failed to understand them. Early next 
morning, after the . crew had suffered everything but 
death, a party of incarnate devils, commonly called 
Rebels, fired upon these suffering and defenceless men of 
a wrecked ship, struggling with the winds and waves, 
and almost overcome with hunger and fatigue. The 
captain ordered the white flag to be displayed, a signal 
of surrender, when the rebels ceased firing for a short 
time, fully making manifest that they saw the signal, and 
were aware of the helpless condition of the crew. Their 
reckless malice, however, could restrain itself but for a 
little time, and they renewed the firing. The United 
States flag was then run up, Union down, a signal of 
distress. It mattered not. These blood-thirsty fiends 
continued hurling their missiles of death at the devoted 
band of wrecked and wretched men. Nor did nor would 
they cease, until the captain, risking his life amidst the 
fury of the breakers in a small boat, landed and remon- 
strated with the semi-savages for their cowardly, brutal 
conduct. Their only reply was, that "they knew nothing 
about it ;" whereas they had been firing one full hour 
after the flying of the white flag, and that in full view* 

* From a letter of H. H. Fanning, Paymaster Marine Corps, to Lieu- 
tenant J. E. De Haven, commanding the United States gunboat " Pe- 
nobscot." January 17th, 18G3. 



BARBARITIES TO REBEL SOLDIERS. 271 



BARBARITIES OF THE REBELS TOWARDS THEIR 
OWN SOLDIERS. 

The barbarism of the rebellion is not confined to tlie 
treatment of Union men. Here, indeed, it manifests 
itself in the most odious and revolting forms — in forms 
that would make a savage blush — but here it does not 
stop. It is seen in the discipline of the rebel army — in 
the means to which it resorts to secure unquestioning 
obedience — and in the atrocious manner in which of- 
fences are punished. As an illustration of this, we give 
the following extract from the Richmond Examiner of 
January 20th, 1864 :— 

The times when the cat-o'-nine-tails was the instru- 
ment of naval discipline, and soldiers were strapped to 
the ground and their backs mangled with the scourge, 
have passed — for us at least — into the traditions of 
another generation. We are shocked, however, to hear 
that a naval punishment has been invented in our army 
which surpasses the horrors of the scourge, and has bor- 
rowed its suggestion from the punishment of the Inqui- 
sition. It is the thumb-torture. 

The mode of punishment is to hang the soldier by 
straps on the thumb, so that his toes may scarcely touch 
the ground, and the weight of his body depend from the 
strained ligaments. We are informed, by testimony that 
does not admit of question, that this horrid punishment 
has been practised in a portion of the army on the Po- 
tomac, and has been witnessed in the case of two or \ luxe 
men subjected to the torture.* 

• Rebellion Record. 



272 BONES MADE INTO ORNAMENTS. 



THE CONVERSION BY THE REBELS OF THE BONES 
OF SLAUGHTERED UNION MEN INTO PERSONAL 
ORNAMENTS. 

Much has been said on this topic, and much needs to 
be said. The theory is so hideous and revolting, so op- 
posed to all true refinement, and so indicative of a 
barbarous state of society, that men are slow to believe 
it, and many sympathizers with the rebellion absolutely 
deny that it has been done. Surely, it is one of the last 
things to be expected of a people claiming to be high- 
minded and chivalrous. But that it has been done, in 
numerous instances, is a well-established fact. To the 
evidence already furnished by these pages, we add the 
following special Order (152) of Major-General Butler. 

Special Order (152). — John W. Andrews exhibited 
a cross, the emblem of the sufferings of our Blessed 
Saviour, fashioned for a personal ornament, which he 
said was made from the bones of a Yankee soldier : and 
having shown this, too, without rebuke, in the Louisiana 
Club, which claims to be composed of chivalric gen- 
tlemen, — 

It is therefore Ordered, that for this desecration of the 
dead, he be confined at hard labor, for two years, on the 
fortifications at Ship Island ; and that he be allowed no 
verbal or written communication to or with any one, ex- 
cept through these headquarters. 

B. F. Butler, 
Major-General Commanding.* 

* Rebellion Record. Vol. V. 



BARBARITY OF GENERAL FORREST. 273 



BARBARITY OF GENERAL FORREST. 

Headquarters, First Division, Fourth Army Corps, 
Department of the Cumberland, Blue Springs, Tenn., Apr. 21, 18G4. 

The late massacre at Fort Pillow, by Forrest, seems 
to have rilled the community with indignation and sur- 
prise. To those in the front of our armies, who know 
Forrest, there is nothing at all astonishing in his conduct 
at Fort Pillow. I know that this very much respected 
Confederate hero has, upon former occasions, conde- 
scended to become his own executioner. 

To show the style of man Jeff Davis and the Con- 
federacy delight to honor, I will relate the following, 
which was stated to me last summer by a rebel citizen 
of Middle Tennessee, a man of high standing in his 
community, who had it from his nephew, an officer serv- 
ing under Forrest. 

About the middle of the summer of 1862, Forrest 
surprised the post of Murfreesboro', commanded by 
Brigadier-General T. T. Crittenden, of Indiana. The 
garrison was composed mostly of the Ninth Michigan 
and Second Minnesota Infantry, and the Seventh Penn- 
sylvania Cavalry. After some little fighting, the troops 
were surrounded. 

A mulatto man, who was servant to one of the officers 
of the Union forces, was brought to Forrest on horse- 
back. The latter inquired of him, with many oaths, 
" What he was doing there ?" The mulatto answered, 
that he was a free man, and came out as a servant to an 
officer, naming the man. Forrest, who was on horse- 
back, deliberately put his hand to his holster, drew 
his pistol, and blew the man's brains out. 

The rebel officer stated that the mulatto man came 



27-i UNIONISTS OF ARKANSAS. 

from Pennsylvania ; and the same officer denounced the 
act as one of cold-blooded murder, and declared he would 
never again serve under Forrest. 

This murdered man was not a soldier, and, indeed, 
the occurrence took place before the United States 
Government determined to arm negroes. Of the truth 
of this there is not a shadow of doubt, and it can be 
established any day by living witnesses. 

Your obedient servant, D. L. Stanley, 

Major-General. 



UNIONISTS OF ARKANSAS. 

The persecutions of the Unionists of Arkansas are 
nearly if not quite equal to those practised upon the 
Unionists of East Tennessee. The rebels, after driving 
all the Union men out of the country or hanging them, 
fell upon the innocent women and children, torturing 
them in every way that fiends could devise ; they even 
went so far as to steal the provisions from them, and 
after burning their houses, and laying waste their lands, 
compelled them to leave the State without means, bare- 
footed and half clad. 

The following is a letter from General Fisk, asking 
the steamboat-men and others to aid one of these poor 
refugees in reaching her friends : — 

Headquarters, District of S. E. Missouri, 
Pilot Knob, October 19th, 186*. 

To Eailroad Agents, Steamboat-men, and others whom 

it may concern. 

The bearer of this note, Mrs. Maria Sharkley, has been 
robbed of all her possessions, and driven from her home 
in Arkansas. 



MURDER IX ARKANSAS. 275 

She is especially commended to the sympathy of 
charitable people, as one upon whom kindness and 
Christian benevolence would not be wasted, and any 
favor conferred, will truly be worthily bestowed, as well 
as thankfully appreciated. She is a refugee from the 
terrors of the murderous rebels who invest the northern 
portion of her native State, and is of the most devoted 
loyalty. 

C. B. Fisk, 
Brigadier-General Com'g. 
W. T. Clark, 

Lieutenant and A. D. C. 



MURDER OF TWO UNIONISTS IN ARKANSAS. 

In the month of October, 1863, two Union citizens, 
named Joseph Birchfleld and Joseph Pound, of Arkan- 
sas, were brutally murdered by a party of Confederate 
soldiers, belonging to Marmaduke's command, in the 
following manner : — 

Stealk r upon their victims while they were at home, 
they arrested them and took them a short distance, at the 
6ame time ordering their families to follow ; in the mean 
time telling their prisoners that it was their intention to 
murder them, and they must prepare themselves for 
death, as they had but little time to live. The families 
of the doomed men pleaded and begged for the lives of 
their husbands and fathers, but to no avail. The villains 
had come to murder, and nothing but blood would 
satisfy them. The fiends then actually made the families 
of the two unfortunate men stand up and look on as 
they proceeded to murder their innocent friends and 



276 BARBAEITY OF JOHN LETCHER. 

kept them there until they had finished the job, when 
they sought new fields for crime ; and left the distressed 
and weeping families to bury their murdered husbands 
and fathers. 

The same cruelties were practised upon numerous 
other Union families in the immediate neighborhood, 
and their crimes were that they loved the old Gov- 
ernment and its flag better than they did the Con- 
federacy. These actions were committed by Confederate 
soldiers, and sanctioned by their commanders.* 



BARBARITY OF JOHN LETCHER. 

The following is a letter from the arch-traitor, John 
Letcher, Governor of Virginia, to a Unionist named 
Fitzgerald, who was arrested upon suspicion, and con- 
fined in one of the loathsome dens, called prisons, in. 
Richmond. The letter will fully show how corrupted 
and dead to all sense of justice and humanity the minds 
of the leaders of the rebellion are ; they think death is 
none too good for a man who is even suspected of being 
a Union man. We give the letter, and leave our readers 
to judge for themselves : — 

Executive Department, Richmond, Va., 
June 25th, 1863. 

Mr. William Fitzgerald — Sir : I was aware before the 
receipt of your letter yesterday, that you were still in 
prison, and I can assure you that it shall be no fault of 
mine if you do not remain so during your natural life. 
When I promised to intercede in your behalf, I believed 

* Mr. Ward, of Arkansas. 



CAPTURE OF STEAMER LEVIATHAN. 277 

your assurance that the suspicions against you were 
without foundation ; but on calling on General Winder, 
I found that it had been reported to him by a gentleman 
of undoubted loyalty and veracity, that you have been 
for years an enemy and vilifier of Southern institutions. 
In 1856, you voted for the Abolitionist, Fremont, for 
President. Ever since the war, you have maintained a 
sullen silence in regard to 'its merits. Your son, who, 
in common with other young men, was called to the 
defence of his country, has escaped to the enemy, proba- 
bly by your advice. This is evidence enough to satisfy 
me that you are a traitor to your country ; and I regret 
that it is not sufficient to justify me in demanding you 
from the military authorities, to be tried and executed 
for treason. Yours, &c, 

John Letcher. 



CAPTURE OF THE STEAMER LEVIATHAN. 

On the 23d of September, 1863, the United States 
Steamer Leviathan, was seized at South West Pass in 
the Mississippi river, by a band of rebel pirates, who 
stole on board by means of row-boats, and overpowered 
the crew before they could get their arms to defend 
themselves. Then having put all on shore but eight men, 
they raised steam and immediately put to sea ; the eight 
men were in the mean time heavily ironed and put 
below. 

As soon as these facts were made known to the United 
States authorities, the United States Steamer De Soto 
was sent in pursuit ; she came up with the eight men in 
a small boat, who stated that after they had been at sea 
some time, the rebels put them in this small boat, without 
24 



278 MURDER 0? MAJOR WILEMAN. 

oars, sail, or any food ; beside, the wind was blowing a 
fearful gale at the time, and had not the De Soto provi- 
dentially crossed their path when she did, they would 
certainly have all gone to the bottom, or starved to 
death, as they were at the mercy of the waves. This 
intended murder was committed by the high-toned 
chivalry of New Orleans.* 



MURDER OF MAJOR WILEMAN. 

On or about the 5th of October, 1863, a party of rebel 
soldiers went to the house of Major Wileman, which 
was in Pendleton county, Kentucky. Major Wileman 
belonged to the Eighth Regiment, Kentucky Volunteers, 
and was a gallant and brave officer, and was wounded in 
the battle of Chickamauga. He had just returned home 
to recruit his health, when the rebels, like thieves, 
silently stole up to his house, and surrounding it, so that 
all chance of escape was cut off, they rushed in upon 
their unsuspecting and defenceless victim, and took him 
out, and then commenced stripping him of his cloth- 
ing, telling him that they had come to kill him, and 
were now getting ready to do it. The major pro- 
tested against such barbarity, and told them, that they 
should treat him as a prisoner of war, because he was an 
officer in the United States Army. They cursed him 
for a d — d tory, and told him they never took prisoners. 
They then proceeded to tie him to a tree, and when this 
was done, they deliberately shot him. "We have since 
learned, that four or five of his murderers have been 
captured, and it is to be hoped that they will meet their 
just reward. f 

* Colonel William McNair. 

f From Colonel J. 0. Morrison. 



PROCLAMATION OF GOV. JOHNSON. 279 



PROCLAMATION OF ANDREW JOHNSON. 

Nashville, Tennessee, May 9th, 1862. 

Whereas, certain persons, unfriendly and hostile to the 
Government of the United States have banded themselves 
together, and are now going at large through many of 
the counties of this State, arresting, maltreating, and 
plundering Union citizens wherever found, 

Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, Governor of the 
State of Tennessee, by virtue of the power and authority 
in me vested, do hereby proclaim that in every instance 
in which a Union man is arrested and maltreated by the 
marauding bands aforesaid, five or more rebels, from the 
most prominent in the immediate neighborhood, shall be 
arrested, imprisoned, and otherwise dealt with as the 
nature of the case may require, and further, in all cases 
where the property of citizens, loyal to the Government 
of the United States, is taken or destroyed, full and 
ample renumeration shall be made to them, out of the 
property of such rebels in the vicinity as have sympa- 
thized with, and given aid, comfort, information, or 
encouragement to the parties committing such depreda- 
tions. 

This letter will be executed in letter and spirit. A 11 
citizens are hereby warned, under heavy penalties, from 
entertaining, receiving, or encouraging such persons so 
banded together, or in anywise connected therewith. 

By the Governor, Andrew Johnson. 

Edward H. East, Secretary of State.* 

• Rebellion Record. 



280 PROCLAMATION OF GENERAL LOAN. 



PROCLAMATION OF GENERAL LOAN. 

Headquarters, District North-west Missouri, 
St. Joseph, May 26th, 1862. 

It has become manifest, that rebels returning from the, 
armies of the insurgents, and other disaffected and dis- 
loyal persons, are, throughout this military district 
organizing bands to act during the ensuing season as 
guerrillas and banditti. It is intended to resort to the 
most vigorous measures to suppress these outlaws, and 
to this end it is enjoined upon all commands, scouting 
parties, officers and soldiers, when these outlaws are de- 
tected in bushwhacking, marauding, and committing 
other depredations, as guerrillas or bandits, upon peace- 
able inhabitants of the country, to shoot them when 
found. 

All ablebodied men in the vicinity where acts of mur- 
der, marauding, robbery, or larceny, shall be committed 
by guerrillas, or bandits, are required to make immediate 
pursuit, and render all the assistance in their power to 
secure the destruction or capture of the criminals. 

Those who are known to have heretofore sympathized 
with the rebels, and who fail to render such assistance, 
will be arrested, and the facts reported to these headquar- 
ters for final disposition. 

Murderers, robbers, and thieves have become so 
numerous on the border, and so bold and daring in the 
commission of crime, that it is utterly impossible for the 
civil tribunals to punish the perpetrators of crime with 
sufficient promptness and severity, to deter them from 
committing further outrages, and to furnish protection 
to the citizens. 

Hereafter, the perpetrators of such crimes, when 



GUERRILLAS OF KENTUCKY. 281 

arrested, will be tried and punished at the discretion of 
a military commission. By order of 

Brigadier-General Loan. 
James Rainsford, Assistant Adjutant- General. 



GUERRILLAS OF KENTUCKY. 

Headquarters, District of Kentucky, 
5th Division, 2d Army Corps, 
Lexington, Ky., July 16th, 1864. 

General Orders, No. 59. — The rapid increase in this 
district of lawless bands of armed men, interrupting rail- 
roads and telegraphic communication, plundering and 
murdering peaceful Union citizens, destroying the mails, 
&c, &c, calls for the adoption of stringent measures on 
the part of the military authorities for their suppres- 
sion. 

Therefore all guerrillas, armed prowlers, by whatever 
name they may be known, and rebel sympathizers, are 
hereby admonished that in future stern retaliatory mea- 
sures will be adopted and strictly enforced, whenever the 
lives or property of peaceful citizens are jeopardized by 
the lawless acts of such men. 

Rebel sympathizers, living within five miles of any 
scene of outrage committed by armed men not recognised 
as public enemies by the rules and usages of war, will 
be liable to be arrested and sent beyond the limits of the 
United States, in accordance with instructions from the 
major-general commanding the military division of the 
Mississippi. 

So much of the property of rebel sympathizers as may 
be necessary to indemnify the government or loyal citi- 
21* 



282 JEFF DAVIS AND 

zens for losses incurred by the acts of such lawless men, 
will be seized and appropriated for this purpose. 

Wherever an unarmed Union citizen is murdered, 
four guerrillas will be selected from the prisoners in the 
hands of the military authorities, and publicly shot to 
death in the most convenient place near the scene of out- 
rage. 

By command of Major-General S. G. Burbridge. 

J. B. Dickson", Captain and A. A. General. 



JEFF DAVIS AND MAJOR-GENERAL B. F. BUTLER. 

From the Proclamation of Jeff Davis against Major- 
General B. F. Butler, for the hanging of W. B. Mulford, 
for pulling down the United States flag, after trial and 
condemnation by court-martial : — 

Now therefore I, Jefferson Davis, President of the 
Confederate States of America, and in their name do 
pronounce and declare the said Benjamin F. Butler to be 
a felon, deserving of capital punishment. I do order 
that he shall no longer be considered or treated simply 
as a public enemy of the Confederate States of America, 
but as an outlaw and common enemy of mankind, and 
that in the event of his capture, the officer in command 
of the capturing force do cause him to be immediately 
executed by hanging. 

And I do further order that no commissioned officer 
of the United States taken captive, shall be released, or 
paroled, or exchanged, until the said Butler shall have 
met with due punishment for his crime. * * 

Now therefore I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Con- 
federate States of America, and acting by their authority, 



GENERAL BUTLER. 283 

appealing to the Divine Judge in attestation that their con- 
duct is not guided by the passion of revenge, but that they 
reluctantly yield to the solemn duty of redressing, by 
necessary severity, crimes of which their citizens are the 
victims, do issue this my proclamation, and by virtue of 
my authority, as commander-in-chief of the armies of 
the Confederate States, do order, 

First. That all commissioned officers in the command 
of said Benjamin F. Butler be declared not entitled to 
be considered as soldiers engaged in honorable warfare, 
but as robbers and criminals deserving death, and that 
they and each of them be, whenever captured, reserved 
for execution. 

Third. That all negro slaves captured in arms be at 
once delivered over to the executive authorities of the 
respective states, to be dealt with according to the laws 
of said states. 

Fourth. That the like orders be executed in all cases 
with respect to all commissioned officers of the United 
States when found serving in company with said slaves 
in insurrection against the authorities of the different 
states of this Confederacy. 

In testimony whereof I have signed these presents, 
and caused the seal of the Confederate States of America 
to be affixed thereto, at the city of Eichmond, on this 
twenty-third day of December, in the year of our Lord 
one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two. 

By the President, Jefferson Davis. 

J. P. Benjamin, Secretary of State. 



284 MASSACRE OF NEGRO SOLDIERS. 



HANGING OF UNION CAPTIVES. 

We have had occasion to speak repeatedly of the treat- 
ment of Union men in Tennessee by the rebel forces. 
All that we have said of the inhumanity practised to- 
wards them is confirmed by the following extract from 
the Eichmond Dispatch. 

According to the Dispatch a band of Unionists, styled 
tories by the Dispatch, about seventy in number, under 
the command of one Taylor, were attacked by a body 
of rebels under Colonel Folk, in Johnson county, East 
Tennessee, January 23d, 1863. 

The Dispatch, in describing the affair, says: "The 
tory cavalry and infantry were parading in a field near 
the Fish Springs ; Colonel Folk ordered his men to swim 
the river and charge them. The tories, seeing this, aban- 
doned their horses and took shelter upon the summit of 
a large ridge. Folk's men were then dismounted, and 
charged up the ridge, completely dispersing the tories. 
All of their horses were captured. Four of the tories 
were killed, and a number wounded and captured. The 
captured were immediately hung, by order of Colonel Folk." 



MASSACRE OF NEGRO SOLDIERS. 

Headquarters, Army op the James, 
In the Field, October 12th, 1864. 

General : I have the honor to forward the report of 
Colonel Draper, Thirty-sixth United States Colored 
Troops, commanding brigade, as to the information fur- 
nished by Lieutenant Yeirs, who was wounded and 



MASSACRE OF NEGRO SOLDIERS. 285 

captured at Fort Gilmer, in charge of the Twenty- 
ninth. 

Lieutenant Yeirs has been paroled or exchanged, and 
has gone to Annapolis, so he can be examined upon the 
matter by the Judge Advocate General. 

Please forward the report to the Hon. Secretary of 
War, for investigation, and instruction as to how I shall 
act in the premises. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 
Your obedient servant, 

B. F. Butler, 
Major-General Commanding. 
U. S. Grant, Lieut.-General U. S. A. 

Field-Hospital, Army of the James, 
In the Field, October 12th, 1864. 

Major : I have the honor to transmit herewith a com- 
munication from Major William H. Hart, Thirty-sixth 
United States Colored Troops, in which he reports the 
statement made to him by Lieutenant Yeirs, Fifth U. S. 
Colored Troops, concerning the murder of colored sol- 
diers by the men of the Fifteenth Georgia, after the 
repulse of Brigadier-General Foster's troops at Fort 
Gilmer. 

Lieutenant Yeirs's regiment, the Fifth U. S. Colored 
Troops, supported a brigade of General Foster's division 
in the assault on Fort Gilmer, on the 29th ultimo. 

Lieutenant Yeirs was wounded and captured — was 
exchanged — and made his statement to Major Hart, on 
board the steamer City of New York, on Sunday, 
October 9th. 

Major Hart is reliable and accurate, and his report of 
the conversation is without doubt correct. 



286 MASSACRE OF NEGRO SOLDIERS. 

Lieutenant Yeirs is now, probably, in the hospital at 
Fort Monroe. I remain, very respectfully, 
Your obedient servant, 

Alonzo G. Draper, 
Colonel Thirty-sixth U. S. Colored Troops. 

Major E. S. Davis, A. A. G., Department of Virginia 
and North Carolina. 

Camp Thirty-sixth U. S. Colored Troops, 
Army of the James, in the Field, October 12th, 1864. 

Colonel : The following is a correct statement of the 
conversation held by me with Lieutenant Yeirs, Fifth 
U. S. Colored Troops, who was wounded and taken 
prisoner in the assault on Fort Gilmer on the afternoon 
of the 29th ultimo. 

I saw Lieutenant Yeirs on board the City of New 
York, at Eiker's Landing, on her last trip down the 
river, October 9th. He stated to me, that after the 
assaulting party had retired, the rebel soldiers (who 
he afterwards learned belonged to the Fifteenth Georgia 
regiment) came out of the fort and bayoneted all the 
colored soldiers who were so badly wounded that they 
could not walk. They also flourished their bayonets 
over him, called him the vilest names they could utter, 
and would probably have killed him on the spot, had 
not the officers of these men come to his rescue. They 
(the officers) ordered the men to desist, and had Yeirs 
conveyed inside the fort, where he was again subjected 
to the vilest insults, from the lips of a Confederate 
naval officer. This officer admitted, however, that the 
" d — d niggers fought like devils !" 

I remain, Colonel, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, "W. H. Hart, 
Major Thirty -sixth U. S. Colored Troops. 

Col. A. G. Hart, Thirty-sixth U. S. Colored Troops, 
Field- Hospital, Eighteenth Army Corps. 



MURDER OP CARTER FOSTER. 287 

DEVILISH TORTURE. 

On or about the 3d of September, 1863, a party of 
rebel fiends visited the house of a well-known Union 
man (whose name we refrain from mentioning from ob- 
vious reasons), in Jamestown, Eussell county, Kentucky. 
Rushing into the house, they arrested him and his wife, 
and, after some private consultation, took them out of 
the house and carried them to a place where they knew 
they were beyond pursuit. 

The fiends then threw the woman down upon the 
ground, and compelled a negro who was with them to 
hold her down. The negro protested, and declared he 
would not do it, when a pistol was presented to his head 
and held there until he consented to do it ; and then the 
brutes actually violated her, compelling her husband to 
stand up and look at them while they committed their 
devilish work. She plead and begged them to kill her 
before they thus treated her, but they only cursed her, 
and told her that she deserved more, and ought to con- 
sider herself lucky in getting off so easy for being a 
d — d Unionist. 

They then released her and her husband, to go home 
and mourn over the wrongs that were inflicted upon 
them, for no other reason than that they loved their 
country and would not desert it.* 



MURDER OF CARTER FOSTER. 

In the latter part of the summer of 1863, a party of 
rebels made 3, raid into the neighborhood of Conyersville 

* Captain J. D. Hale, of Kentucky. 



283 STATE RIGHTS. 

Kentucky, and after robbing the Unionists of the country, 
and committing numerous other depredations, they went 
to the house of a man named Carter Foster, whom they 
arrested, and after calling him a d — d Unionist, and 
heaping every species of abuse upon him, they told him 
that it was their intention to kill him. He begged and 
plead with them not to take his life, and said that he had 
always been quiet and attended to his own business, and 
had said nothing to injure them or their cause. " You 
are a d — d Lincolnite," said they, " and that is enough j 
besides, it is our business to rid Kentucky of such men." 
They then drew their pistols and brutally shot him ; after 
the body fell, the fiends actually kicked the corpse. 
This is but one of the many atrocious murders committed 
by this same band- upon the unprotected Unionists of 
Kentucky. At one time it was worth a. man's life to be 
even suspected of being a Unionist.* 



THE DOCTRINE OF STATE RIGHTS PRACTICALLY 
REPUDIATED BY THE REBEL AUTHORITIES. 

One of the principal grounds on which it has been 
attempted to justify the rebellion, is the mischievous 
doctrine of State rights ; yet, this doctrine, which they 
profess to hold so sacred, for which they claim they 
have taken up arms, and submitted to the greatest suf- 
ferings, has been uniformly disregarded in practice by 
the rebels in the pursuit of their fiendish purposes. 
Maryland, and Kentucky, and Missouri, they have 
sought to force into the rebellion. Several of the seceded 

*J. P. Dunlap, R. Pollard, and others. 



STATE RIGHTS. 289 

States, to say the least, were actually forced into the 
rebellion against the will of a majority of the people, 
by the inauguration of a reign of terror. The practical 
disregard of this doctrine by the rebel authorities in 
North Carolina, is thus set forth in a speech of Hon. 
C. J. Barlow, of Georgia, delivered in the Cooper Insti- k 
tute, New York, October 15, 1864 :— 

In all my reading, I have not found in history so bare- 
faced an attempt to deceive an intelligent people as this 
of Davis, to set up a claim that he is fighting the battles 
of the American people, and that he is the champion of 
State rights. Now let us come to the doctrine of State 
rights, and Mr. Davis's rule. The people of North Caro- 
lina proposed to meet in convention to nominate a candi- 
date for Governor. They proposed, as a part of their 
scheme, that inasmuch as Mr. Davis evidently did not 
desire to make peace with the United States Government, 
it was competent for the "sovereign State" of North 
Carolina to withdraw from her " agent," Mr. Davis, that 
portion of his power delegated to him, and which gave 
him the control of the subject of peace, believing that 
the State could negotiate a peace better than Mr. Davis. 
The convention met in a building used for camp meeting 
purposes, and I suppose was as large as this. It was a 
body composed of the first men of the State, men of in- 
telligence, wealth, and many of whose names were his- 
toric, and among them were many of advanced age. 
"What did Mr, Jefferson Davis, the exponent of State 
rights, who is so exceedingly sensitive on that point, do? 
He sent an armed force to disperse the meeting and 
arrest its leaders; and, fellow-citizens, to-day, in the 
North Carolina prisons, are many aged and respected 
and intelligent citizens languishing and dying, because 
they had the audacity to nominate a candidate for Gover- 
25 



290 STATE EIGHTS. 

nor upon certain principles which they thought would 
redound to the benefit of the people. But that did not 
do. The agitation went on. The Georgia peace party 
kept pressing Mr. Davis. We held our Congressional 
elections and turned out of Congress what were called the 
11 Forty Thieves." These were forty members of the so- 
called Congress at Richmond who always voted com- 
pactly as Davis wanted them to, and always in secret 
session, for there never had been an open session of that 
body upon any question that interested the people. We 
knew them, and in our election, what the Richmond 
Examiner called the " Forty Conscripts," and others 
called the " Forty Thieves," was turned out. But when 
Mr. Davis found that he had lost them, he induced them 
before their final retirement to pass a law, some of the 
features of which I will detail to you, because they are 
quite novel and original, and particularly as coming from 
a State Rights Democrat. In the first place, that law 
sets forth that any man who uses language calculated to 
lead anj^body to suppose that he can possibly be in favor 
of the idea that a State has a right to secede from the 
Southern Confederacy, it is treason. [Laughter.] Then 
a clause gives to Mr. Davis the power to construe the 
language and motive of a man, and any lawyer knows 
the extent to which tyranny can be carried under such 
a clause. Then he is empowered by this to appoint mili- 
tary courts and the officers who compose it, the law 
having abolished the civil tribunals. What is the result ? 
When a citizen is brought before the military court, he 
is tried with closed doors, ia refused legal counsel, is re- 
fused the benefit of testimony, is refused correspondence 
or communication with his family, and all for what ? To 
try and to shoot him, if, after getting all the evidence 
that can be got together, it can be shown to the mind of 



STATE RIGHTS. 291 

Mr. Jefferson Davis, by direction or indirection, that this 
man could possibly entertain the idea that under any cir- 
cumstances a State had a right to secede from the 
Southern Confederacy | ***** * 
* * * In the southwestern part of North Caro- 
lina, in the mountain region, there is a valley correspond- 
ing to the Valley of East Tennessee, which is grand and 
beautiful in its appearance. The inhabitants of this 
valley are almost entirely small farmers — many of them 
farmers who have quietly pursued their industries with- 
out slaves, in the midst of a picturesque country and fer- 
tile soil. They were simple and rural in their character- 
istics, patriotic, and they voted en masse against all the 
schemes and propositions for disunion. [Applause.] 
When at last the trial came, when Mr. Davis's conscript 
law was passed, those unfortunate people sent a commis- 
sion to Richmond, asking that they might be absolved 
from the operation of that draft. The petition was, of 
course without avail. They then resorted to other means 
to avoid taking up arms against the Government under 
which they were reared and which they loved. They 
petitioned for expatriation. That, too, was refused by Mr. 
Jefferson Davis, this modern representative of civil liberty 
and defender of the rights and liberties of localities. 
[Laughter.] On the contrary, this champion of State 
rights sent North Carolina troops to that region for the 
purpose of having the conscript law executed against 
that unfortunate people, and to force them to take up 
arms against the conviction of their consciences. But 
the North Carolina troops fraternized with their fellow- 
citizens, and Mr. Davis was forced to send other troops, 
who also failed to effect the purpose. What next did he 
do ? He enlisted a brigade of Cherokee Indians, num- 
bering, I think, from 3500 to 4000, of as desperate 



292 GENERAL SHERMAN. 

and lawless ruffians as a hybrid population ever produced, 
and these miserable wretches were turned loose upon the 
population, and from that day to this that valley has 
been the scene of battle, of violence, of assassination, and 
of crime. The history of the massacre of the people of 
La Yendee, in France, the murder of the Innocents, or 
any tale of atrocity related in imaginative literature, or 
in history, hold no comparison with the cruelty and 
crime perpetrated upon the Innocent and unoffending 
people of that region, because they loved the country 
of their birth. 



GENERAL SHERMAN. 



The following is a letter from General W. T. Sherman 
to the rebel General Hood, in relation to the removing 
of the citizens from the city of Atlanta, after its capture 
by the Union army : — 

General J. R. Hood: I have the honor to acknow- 
ledge the receipt of your letter of this date, at the hands 
of Messrs. Ball and Orr, Esquires, consenting to the 
arrangements I had proposed to facilitate the removal 
south of the people of Atlanta, who prefer to go in that 
direction. I enclose you a copy of my orders, which 
will, I am satisfied, accomplish my purpose perfectly. 

You style the measure proposed *' unprecedented," and 
appeal to the dark history of war for its parallel, as 
an act of " studied and ingenious cruelty." It is not 
unprecedented, for General Johnston himself very wisely 
and properly removed families all the way from Dalton 
down, and I see no reason why Atlanta should be ex- 
cepted. 



GENERAL SHERMAN. 293 

Nor is it necessary to appeal to the dark "history of 
war, when recent and modern examples are so handy. 
You yourself burn dwelling-houses along your parapet, 
and I have seen to-day forty houses that have been 
rendered uninhabitable, because they stood in the way 
of your forts and men. You defended Atlanta on a line 
so close to the town, that every cannon-shot and many 
musket-shots from our line of investment that overshot 
their mark, went into habitations of women and children. 
General Hardee did the same at Jonesborough, and 
General Johnston did the same last summer at Jackson, 
Mississippi. I have not accused you of heartless cruelty, 
but merely instance those cases of very recent occurrence, 
and could go on and enumerate hundreds of others, and 
challenge any fair man to judge which of us has a heart 
of pity for the families of a brave people. 

I say it is kindness to those families of Atlanta to 
remove them now, at once, from scenes that women and 
children should not be -exposed to, and a brave people 
should scorn to commit their wives and children to rude 
barbarians, who thus, as you say, violate the laws of war, 
as illustrated in the pages of its dark history. 

In the name of common sense, I ask you not to appeal 
to a just God in such a sacrilegious manner; you, who 
in the midst of peace and prosperity, have plunged a 
nation into civil war — dark and cruel war — who dared 
and badgered us to battle, insulted our flag, seized our 
arsenals and forts that were left in honorable custody of 
peaceful ordnance sergeants, seized and made prisoners 
of war the very garrisons sent to protect your people 
against negroes and Indians, long before any overt act 
was committed by the, to you, hateful Lincoln Govern- 
ment. 

You tried to force Kentucky and Missouri into rebel- 
25* 



294 BUSHWHACKING ENCOURAGED 

lion spite of themselves, falsified the oath of Iouisiana, 
turned loose your privateers to plunder unarmed ships, 
expelled Union families by thousands, burned their 
houses, and declared, by an Act of your Congress, the 
confiscation of all debts due Northern men for goods that 
had been received. Talk thus to marines, but not to me, 
who have seen these things, and who will this day make 
as much sacrifice for the peace and honor of the South, 
as the best-born Southerner among you. 

If we must be enemies, let us be men, and fight it out 
as we proposed to-day, and not deal in such hypocritical 
appeals to God and humanity. God will judge us in due 
time, and he will pronounce whether it be more humane 
to fight with a town full of women, and the families of 
" a brave people," at our back, or remove them in time 
to places of safety, among their own friends and people. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. T. Sherman, 
Major-General Com'g. 



BUSHWHACKING AND THE BLACK FLAG ENCOU- 
RAGED AND COMMENDED BY THE REBEL PRESS. 

The atrocious character of the rebellion, and of the 
men who are conspicuous in it and give it tone and 
shape, manifests itself in the utterances of the rebel press. 
In the newspapers of the Confederacy, deeds of violence, 
acts of rapine and murder, and cruelties supposed to be 
characteristic of savages only, are commended, encou- 
raged, and urged. As an illustration, we give the fol- 
lowing extracts : — 

Now is the time for bushwhacking, and the black flag. 
Now is the time to punish, with the full measure of re- 



BY THE REBEL PRESS. 295 

tributive justice, the vandals who have dared to desecrate 
our soil for the purpose of rapine, murder, and every 
manner of cruelty and outrage which illustrates the de- 
pravity and wickedness of human nature in its most 
degenerate form. It is not improbable that, by means 
of iron -clad boats, they will succeed occasionally in ef- 
fecting landings upon the Mississippi river, with a view 
to predatory incursions into the interior. Nothing better 
could be desired. It will give each man, of whatever 
age, calling, or occupation, an opportunity to become an 
efficient soldier. 

He can take his gun, ascertain the places most likely 
to be frequented by the Yankee thieves, conceal himself 
in ravine, thicket, or undergrowth, and pick them off by 
the wholesale. This will be fine sport — better in- 
deed than hunting wild-ffame : and those ensra^ed in it. 
will have the satisfaction of knowing that whenever they 
bring one of these prowling beasts to the dust, the num- 
ber of our remorseless enemies will be that much less. 
We know of one quiet, but shrewd and resolute citizen, 
in a certain region infested with these plunderers from 
Yankee land, who has bagged about a dozen of them. 
His example is commended especially to the people of 
the river counties; but not to them alone. Where the 
base hoof of the Yankee leaves its impress, there let his 
carcass be made to enrich the soil which he has come to 
plunder. 

Nor must their coming be awaited. Every part of 
our territory should, alike, be held sacred from such a 
loathsome presence. The Yankee generals, dreading the 
guerrilla and bushwhacking system of war, have indi- 
cated their purpose to retaliate by seizing non-com- 
batants, and destroying property indiscriminately. It is 
not for our people to be deterred by this expedient. 



296 BUSHWHACKING ENCOUKAGED 

We must remember, that our condition cannot possibly 
be made worse than it will have become should the 
Yankees succeed in their scheme of subjugation. 

As for the rules of civilized war, we have this to say. 
A people who, for no justifiable cause whatever, have 
come to place a yoke of iron on our necks, are not en- 
titled to their benefit. Moreover, these rules, as well as 
the ordinary obligations of humanity, have been entirely 
disregarded by the Yankees wherever they have suc- 
ceeded in obtaining control. "Witness their inhuman 
conduct at Nashville, Hunts ville, New Orleans, and 
elsewhere. * * * * 

In addition to pitched battles upon the open field, let 
us try partisan ranging — bushwhacking — and hencefor- 
ward, until the close of this war, let our sign be " the 
black flag, and no quarter."* 

The Northern vandals have invaded our State, not to 
confront our armies and decide the chances of war in 
pitched battles, but have come to rob and steal — to 
plunder — to burn — and to starve to death our women 
and children. Under such circumstances, we should 
meet them as we would meet the savage, the highway- 
man, or the wild beast of the forest. 

Partisan bands should lie in wait for them, on the 
roadside, in fence-corners, and behind trees ; and, in short, 
they should be hunted down in any and every way that 
can be made efficient and effectual, until the State is re- 
lieved of their presence. Not observing the rules of 
civilized warfare themselves, they cannot expect its ob- 
servance from us. We need more Colonel Blythes in 
tbe woods, all over the State. A dozen well-directed 
shots from the bush, will at any time put a brigade to 

* Jackson Mississippian, June 10th, 1862. 



SANCTION OF GUERRILLA WARFARE. 29"? 

flight; and this is the most sure and certain method of 
putting a stop to the marauding expeditions that are 
from time to time sent out through the country. In 
Colonel Blythe's district or field of operations, it has 
proved most efficacious in holding the enemy at bay, 
and we hope to see the plan put more extensively in 
practice.* 

Our people were greatly surprised, on Saturday morn- 
ing, to see the black flag waving over the depot of the 
Virginia and Tennessee Railroad Company. We are for 
displaying that flag throughout the whole South. We 
should ask no quarter at the hand of the vandal Yankee 
invaders, and our motto should be, an entire extermina- 
tion of every one who has set foot upon our sacred soil. 
Let that flag then float over every hilltop and valley 
throughout the whole South, and as the breezes fan its 
folds, let it tell to the Hessian scoundrels the welcome 
they will have on Southern soil — death to each, one 
and all !f 

We could give numerous other extracts from their 
own papers to prove this point, but we think the above 
will suffice. 



GUERRILLA WARFARE SANCTIONED BY THE 
REBEL AUTHORITIES. 

It may be said that some of the atrocities recorded in 
this book are the work of guerrillas, and therefore the 
rebel authorities are not responsible for them. But when 
or where have these atrocities been rebuked by the Con- 
federate authorities ? and it is an old maxim that silence 

* Charleston Mercury, 9th May, 18G3. 

* Lvnchburg Republican. 



298 SANCTION - OF GUEEKILLA WARFARE 

gives consent. In how many cases have these so-called 
guerrillas been actually enlisted in the rebel service, and 
drawn pay from the rebel treasury, and have been led by 
men holding commissions from the rebel government! 
Yea, more, in how many cases has this guerrilla warfare 
received the direct sanction of the rebel authorities, and 
been organized under them ! The evidence on this point 
is abundant. From the mass of evidence that might be 
adduced, we select the following official documents, among 
which, as will be seen, is an Act of the Eebel Congress, 
approved April 21st, 1862. The Act reads thus : — 

Section 1. The Congress of the Confederate States of 
America do enact, That the president be and he is hereby 
authorized to commission such officers as he may deem 
proper, with authority to form bands of Partisan Rangers, 
in companies, battalions, or regiments, to be composed 
each of such members as the president may approve. 

Section 2. Be it further enacted, That such Partisan 
Rangers, after being regularly received into service, shall 
be entitled to the same pay, rations, and quarters, during 
the term of service, and be subject to the same regula- 
tions, as other soldiers. 

Section 3. Be it further enacted, That for any a^ms 
and munitions of war captured from the enemy by any 
body of Partisan Rangers, and delivered to any quarter- 
master at such place or places as may be designated by 
a commanding general, the Rangers shall be paid their 
full value in such manner as the secretary of war may 
prescribe. 

Extracts of an official correspondence between J. B. 
Clark, Confederate State Senator, and Geo. W. Randolph, 
rebel Secretary of War, in relation to the treatment of 
guerrillas, if taken prisoners by the United States forces : 



BY THE REBEL AUTHORITIES. 299 

EXTRACT OF J. B. CLARK'S LETTER. 

Spottswood Hotel, Richmond, Va., July 15, I8G2. 

Hon. George W. Randolph, Secretary of War. 

Sir : I respectfully desire to know from you whether 
the several partisan corps of Hangers, now organized, or 
that may be organized in the several States of the Con- 
federacy, are to be regarded as part of the army of the 
Confederacy, and protected by the government as such ; 
and whether, if any of said corps are captured in battle, 
or otherwise, while in the line of their duty, by the enemy, 
this government will claim for them the same treatment, 
as prisoners of war, which is now exacted for prisoners 
belonging to our provisional army. * * * * 
With great respect, 

John B. Clark. 

reply. 

Confederate States of America, War Department, 
Richmond, Va., July 16, 18G2. 

Hon. John B. Clark, C. S. Senate. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
your letter of the 15th instant, and to reply that Partisan 
Rangers are a part of the provisional army of the Con- 
federate States, subject to all the regulations adopted for 
its government, and entitled to the same protection as 
prisoners of war. Partisan Rangers are in no respect 
different from troops of the line, except that they are not 
brigaded, and are employed oftener on detached service. 
They require stricter discipline than other troops to 
make them efficient, and, without discipline, they become 
a terror to their friends, and are contemptible in the eyes 
of the enemy. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

George W. Randolph, 

Secretary of War. 



300 BUSHWHACKING ENCOURAGED. 

PROCLAMATION OF GENERAL HINDMAN. 

Headquarters, Trans-Mjssissippi Department, 
Little Rock, Ark., June 17th, 1862. 

For the more effectual annoyance of the enemy upon 
our rivers, and in our mountains and woods, all citizens 
of this district, who are not subject to conscription, are 
called upon to organize themselves into independent 
companies of mounted men or infantry, as they prefer, 
arming and equipping themselves, and to serve in that 
part of the district to which they belong. 

When as many as ten men come together for this 
purpose, they may organize by electing a captain, one 
sergeant, and a corporal, and will at once commence 
operations against the enemy, without waiting for special 
instructions. Their duty will be to cut off Federal pickets, 
scouts, foraging parties, and trains, and to kill pilots and 
others upon gunboats and transports, attacking them day 
and night, and using the greatest vigor in their move- 
ments. As soon as the company attains the strength 
required by law, it will proceed to elect the other officers 
to which it is entitled. All such organizations will 
report to these headquarters as soon as practicable. They 
will receive pay and allowances for subsistence and 
forage for the time actually in the field, as established 
by the affidavits of their captains. 

These companies will be governed, in all respects, by 
the same regulations as other troops. Captains will be 
held responsible for the good conduct and efficiency of 
their men, and will report to these headquarters from 
time to time. By command of 

Major- General Hindman. 

K. C. Newton, 

Assistant Adjutant-General. 




A. LINCOLN, 

Assassinated in Washington, April 14th, 1865. 



THE ASSASSINATION PLOT. 301 



THE ASSASSINATION PLOT. 

The rebellion, which began with falsehood and per- 
jury, and was prosecuted with the most hideous acts of 
barbarity, at length culminated in a deed which has 
scarcely a parallcll in the annals of crime. The plot 
contemplated the assassination of Secretary Stanton, 
President Johnson and Lieutenant General Grant, as 
well as President Lincoln and Secretary Seward, but 
through the good Providence of God was limited in its 
execution to the beloved Chief Magistrate of the nation, 
and his illustrious Secretary of State. That one so good, 
so kind, so forbearing and so forgiving as Abraham 
Lincoln, pre-eminently a man "with charity for all, and 
malice towards none/' should have been stricken down 
by the assassin's hand, and that the life of one so in- 
clined to conciliation and moderation towards the rebels 
; as the sagacious Secretary of State, should have been 
so ferociously assailed, must be forever a source of as- 
; tonishment and indignation. 

It is a well known fact that secret meetings were 
held in the armies of the so-called Confederate States, 
and in them was discussed the propriety of sending cer- 
tain persons on detached service to the Northern States 
and Canada, to release rebel prisoners of war, to lay 
1 northern cities in ashes, and, to use their own terms, to 
I get after the members of the United States cabinet, 
and finally murder President Lincoln. At one of these 
meetings, held in the camp of the 2d Virginia regi- 
ment, Booth and others concerned in this damnable 
i conspiracy were present. 



302 TIIE ASSASSINATION PLOT. 

The rebel officials went so far as to offer large sums 
to different persons to enter into this conspiracy ; one 
of the most influential men of Richmond remarked at a 
public dinner, that he would give ten thousand dollars 
in addition to the Confederate amount to have the Presi- 
dent assassinated. Booth held a commission as one of 
their detailed men ; the commission was given to him 
by Jacob Thompson, rebel agent, stationed in Canada. 

The following is a letter found in a box purporting to 
contain a part of the archives of the War Department of 
the so-called Confederate States of America, delivered 
up. to Major General W. T. Sherman after the surrender 
of the rebel army under General Jos. E. Johnson in 
North Carolina : 

Montgomery, White Sulphur Springs, Ya. 
To his Excellency the President of the Confederate States 
of America : 
Dear Sir : I have been thinking for some time, I 
would make this communication to you, but have been 
debarred from doing so on account of ill-health. I now 
offer you my services, and if you will favor me in my 
designs, I will proceed, as soon as my health will per- 
mit, to rid my country of some of her deadliest enemies, by 
striking at the very heart' s blood of those who seek to en- 
chain her in slavery. I consider nothing dishonorable 
having such a tendency. All I want of you is to favor 
me by granting the necessary papers, etc., to travel on 
while within the jurisdiction of this government. I am 
perfectly familiar with the North, and feel confident that 
I can execute anything I undertake. I have just re- 
turned from within their lines. I am a lieutenant in Gen- 
eral Duke's command. I was on a raid last June in 
Kentucky, under General John II. Morgan. I and all 



THE ASSASSINATION PLOT. 303 

rny command, except two or three commissioned officers, 
were taken prisoners, but finding a good opportunity- 
while being taken to prison I made my escape from them 
in the garb of a citizen. I attempted to pass through 
the mountains, but finding that impossible, narrowly 
escaping two or three times being retaken, I directed 
my course north and south through the Canadas, by the 
assistance of Colonel J. P. Ilolcomb. I succeeded in 
making my way round through the blockade, but having 
taken the yellow fever at Bermuda, I have been ren- 
dered unfit for service since my arrival. I was reared 
up in the State of Alabama, and educated at its Univer- 
sity. Both the Secretary of War and his Assistant, 
Judge Campbell, are personally acquainted with my 
father, W. J. Allston, of the fifth congressional district 
of Alabama, having served in the time of the old Con- 
gress, in the years 18 J9, 1850 and 1851. If I do any- 
thing for you, I shall expect your full confidence in re- 
turn. If you give this, I can render you and my coun- 
try very important service. Let me hear from you 
soon. I am anxious to be doing something, and having 
no command at present, all or nearly all being in garri- 
son, I desire that you favor me in this a short time. I 
should like to have a personal interview with you, in or- 
der to perfect arrangements before starting. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
Lieutenant W. ALLSTON. 
(Address me at these Springs, in hospital.) On the 
letter were the following indorsements : 
Brief of letter. 

Respectfully referred by direction of the President to 
the honorable Secretary of War. 

BURTON W. HARRISON, 

Private Secretary. 



304 THE ASSASSINATION PLOT. 

Received November 29th, 1864. Record Book A. G. 
0., December 8th, 1864. For attention. By order. 

J. A. CAMPBELL, 

Assistant Secretary of War. 

This letter was taken from the box marked "Adju- 
tant General's Office ; letters received from July to De- 
cember, 1864." While Jeff. Davis was trying to make 
his escape South, after the fall of Richmond, Ya., he 
stopped on the way at the house of Lewis F. Bates in 
Charlotte, North Carolina, on the 19th of April, 1865, 
where he made a speech to the people off the steps. 
Near the close of his speech he received the following 
telegram : 

Greensboro, April 19, 1865. 

His Excellency President Davis : President Lincoln 
w r as assassinated in the theatre in Washington on the 
night of the 14th instant ; Seward's house was entered 
on the same night, and he was repeatedly stabbed and 
is probably mortally wounded. 

JOHN C. BRECKINRIDGE. 

At the close of his speech he read the telegram to 
the people, and made the following remark: "If it 
were to be done, it were better that it were done well." 
In a few days after, Breckinridge and a few other lead- 
ing rebels called at the same house to see Jeff. Davis. 
The subject of their conversation was the assassination 
of President Lincoln. Breckinridge remarked that he 
regretted it very much ; that it was unfortunate for the 
people of the South at that time. Davis replied, " Well, 
General, I don't know; if it were to be done at all, it 
were better it were well done j and if the same were 
done to Andrew Johnson the beast, and to Secretary 



THE ASSASSINATION PLOT . 305 

Stanton, the job would then he complete.' ' What man 
with common sense, after seeing such evidence, will deny 
that Jeff. Davis and the members of his cabinet were 
themselves the assassins ; and Booth and his associates 
no more nor less than hired tools, subject to the orders 
of the War Department at Richmond, or its authorized 
agents in Canada? 

On the evening of the 14th of April, 18G5, President 
Lincoln and wife started from the Presidential Mansion, 
between the hours of 8 and 9 o'clock, in their private 
carriage, for Ford's Tenth-street theatre, going by the 
way of Senator Harris's house for Miss Harris and Ma- 
jor Rathbone, to accompany them. Arriving at the 
theatre about 9 o'clock, the presidential party proceeded 
'to the box designated for them, it being the left-hand 
upper private box. On the President's entering the 
box, he was received with cheers and shouts of joy ; 
bowing in acknowledgment, he took a seat, and wa3 
soon absorbed in the play, "The American Cousin," 
laughing heartily at the comic remarks of Asa Trench- 
ard. 

In the mean time the assassins were at work ; having 
by agreement met at the Herndon House, they matured 
their plans and started on their mission of blood. Booth 
having been designated to murder the President, started 
for the theatre, stopping on the way for his horse, which 
was in a stable rented by him in an alley in the rear of 
the theatre. Opening the door, he led the horse out, 
and up to a small door in the back of the theatre ; open- 
ing it, he called three times for Ned Spangler, one of 
his tools employed as a stage carpenter at the theatre. 
In a short time Spangler came running across the stage 
to the door where Booth was standing. As he came up 



306 TOE ASSASSINATION PLOT. 



,,. 



Booth remarked, "Ned help me all you can, won't you' 
41 Oh yes/' returned Spangler, at the same time taking 
the reins of the horse from Booth, and handing them to 
John Burrows alias Peanuts. Booth then started for the 
front of the theatre, where he met and commenced talk- 
ing with a very rough-looking man (one of the conspira- 
tors.) Soon another of the conspirators joined them, a 
small well-dressed man, and the three stood at the end 
of the passage leading to the stage conversing together ; 
in the course of their conversation Booth remarked, in 
a loud tone, "I think he will come now/' (referring to 
the President.) In a short time Booth, leaving the other 
two, stepped into the drinking saloon below the theatre 
and took a drink, and came out in a style that indicated I 
that he was becoming intoxicated ; stepping up to where 
the other two were standing, he whispered something 
to the roughest one, and then went into the passage and 
remained a few minutes. The third or smallest one of 
the party stepped up toward the door leading in front 
of the theatre just as Booth came out of the stage pas- 
sage, and called the time, then started up the street 
toward F street. Remaining a short time, he returned 
and called the time ; shortly after, he stepped up to- 
ward the door and called the time again louder than 
before, ten minutes after ten, then went up the street 
on a fast walk. At the same time Booth entered the 
theatre by the front door leading to the audience, and 
the rough-looking man went into the passage leading 
to the stage. After Booth went into the theatre, he 
inquired the time of the doorkeeper, who told him to 
step into the lobby leading into the street, then he could 
' see the time. Stepping out, he walked in at the door 
leading into the parquette j coming out immediately, he 



THE ASSASSINATION PLOT. 307 

walked up the stairway leading to the dress circle ; pass- 
ing around the circle by the passage behind the scats, 
he walked up to the door leading into the box where 
the President and party where sitting, and stood there 
a few minutes meditating whether to enter. Presently 
the fiend slowly opens the door, and entering, fastens 
it behind him with a small bar made for the purpose ; 
i then turning towards where his unconscious victim sat, 
> he softly draws a one-barrel Derringer pistol from his 
pocket ; raising his arm, he takes sure aim and fires the 
deadly shot ; the ball entering the back part and left 
side of the President's head, passes through and lodges 
in the left side of the brain. The ball was an unusually 
large one for a Derringer. As soon as the fatal shot 
was fired, Major Rathbone sprang from his seat, and 
looking around, saw through the smoke the desperate 
murderer, with a haggard and devilish look upon his 
countenance, standing between the door and his uncon- 
scious victim. As soon as Major Rathbone saw him, 
Booth shouted "Freedom." It is also reported that 
he cried "Revenge for the South." Major Rathbone 
nrade a spring toward him and seized him, but Booth 
was too strong and wrestled himself from the grasp, and 
made a violent thrust at the breast of Major Rathbone 
with a large knife. Major Rathbone parried the blow 
by striking it up, receiving a flesh wound several inches 
deep in his left arm between the shoulder and the elbow; 
the orifice of the wound was about an inch and a half in 
length, extending towards the shoulder. Booth, after 
stabbing Major Rathbone, rushed towards the front of 
the box ; Major Rathbone tried to grasp him again, but 
only succeeded in tearing his clothes as he leaped over 
the railing of the box. Finding that he was about to 



308 THE ASSASSINATION PLOT. 

escape, Major Rathbone cried out in a loud voice, "Stop 
that man." Miss Harris also cried out at the same time, 
1 ' Stop that man j won' t somebody stop that man? 7 ? After. 
Booth leaped on the stage, Major Rathbone turned to- 
ward the President. His position was not changed; hisi 
head was slightly bent forward, and his eyes closed as; 
if in sleep ; the Major supposing him to be mortally 
wounded, rushed to the door for the purpose of calling 
medical aid. On reaching it, he found it barred by a 
heavy piece of wood ; one end was secured in the wall, 
and the other resting against the panel of the door. 
In the mean time Miss Harris assisted two persons, wear- 
ing the uniform of naval surgeons, to climb into ihe box 
by reaching her arm down and pulling them up from 
the stage into the box. Major Rathbone having man- 
aged to get the door open, the President was carried 
out of the theatre, in an unconscious state, across the 
street to the house of Mr. W. Peterson, No. 453 Tenth 
street, where he was laid on a bed in a small back room 
on the first floor. In a few minutes Dr. R. K. Stone, 
the family physician, arrived and pronounced the wound 
mortal. The President, lingering in a state of uncon- 
sciousness died at half-past seven next morning (15th i 
of April,) mourned by all who knew him — the first 
martyr of universal liberty. After the President had 
been carried cut of the box, Major Rathbone assisted I 
Mrs. Lincoln, who was exceedingly excited, to leave the 
theatre. On arriving at the head of the stairs he was I 
compelled to call Major Potter to assist him to carry her 
over to the house where the President was lying. She 
remained with her husband until he breathed his last. 
The wound on the Major's arm bleeding profusely, he 
fainted after leaving Mrs. Lincoln, and was carried home 
in a carriage. 



THE ASSASSINATION PLOT. 309 

As Booth jumped from the box, his spur caught the 
flag and tore off a piece, which stuck to his spur until 
he passed over nearly half of the stage. As he came 
down he fell on the stage, his back slightly towards the 
iaudiencc; but as he was rising, his face came in full 
view, when he cried "Sic semper tyrannis, 7 ' at the 
same time flourishing his knife. He ran behind the 
scenes, where he met William Withers, jr., leader of 
-the orchestra at the theatre, whom he struck upon the 
lleg, and turning him around, made two thrusts at him 
with the knife he held in his hand, one on the neck and 
one on the side, as ho went past him, rushing for the 
small door in the back of the theatre. Opening this, 
i ihe rushed out, and striking the boy who held his horse 
with the but of the knife, he mounted the horse, and 
putting spurs to him, galloped down the alley and es- 
caped. When J. Wilkes Booth left the ITerndon House, 
Payne started for the house of Mr. Wm. H. Seward, 
Secretary of State ; arriving before the time appointed, 
he stepped into the square just opposite, and there 
waited lor the time to roll around. At ten o'clock the 
watchman at the square going his rounds, seeing Payne 
still sitting there, requested him to leave. Going out 
at the southeast gate he mounted his horse, and riding 
up to the Secretary's house, which stood in the middle 
of the block, dismounted, and stepping up to the door, 
he rang the bell. In a few minutes it was answered 
by the waiter. On the opening of the door, Payne 
walked into the passage, carrying a small package in 
his hand, which he said was medicine from Dr. Verdi, 
(the Secretary's family physician ;) he said he was sent 
by Dr. Verdi with particular directions as to the man- 
ner the Secretary was to take the medicine, and must 



310 THE ASSASSINATION PLOT. 

go up to the Secretary's room; the servant told hir 
that he could not go up. He (Payne) then replied that h 
must go up; must see him — must see him. The servant 
still persisted in his refusal, telling him it was agains 
his orders, and that if ho would give him the medicine 
he would tell the Secretary how to take it, if he woul< 
leave him the directions. Payne said that that woul< 
not do, and started to go up the stairs. The servan 
finding that he would go up, ran up past him to excus( 
himself if he was wrong in not letting him pass. Payne'; 
step being heavy on the stairs, the servant requestec 
him not to walk so heav} r , or he would disturb Mr. Sew 
ard. When he reached the landing of the first floor, 
Payne met Mr. Frederick Seward, who asked him his 
business. He answered that he wanted to see the Se- 
cretary. Mr. F. Seward told him that he could not, as 
his father was asleep at that time, and to give him the 
medicine, and he would take it to his father. "That will 
not do" returned Payne, "I must see him ; I must see 
him." Mr. F. Seward answered, "You cannot see him. " 
Payne continued, "I must see him." Mr. F. Seward 
still refused, saying ( ' I am proprietor here; I am Mr. 
Seward's son ; if you cannot leave the medicine with me, 
you cannot leave it at all." Payne finding that he could 
not pass, started toward the stairs as if to go down. 
The waiter started down before him, and had gone about 
three steps when, turning around, he remarked, "Do not 
walk so heavy." By the time the servant had turned 
half way around, Payne jumped back and struck Mr. 
Frederick Seward on the head ; on his repeating the 
blow, Mr. F. Seward fell, throwing up his hands ; after 
Payne struck Mr. Frederick Seward the second blow, 



THE ASSASSINATION PLOT. 3U 

the servant ran down stairs and into the street to give 
the alarm. 

Sergeant George F. Robinson (the Secretary's nurse) 
hearing the scuffling in the hall, opened the door of the 
room, where the Secretary was lying sick from wounds 
received a few days before by being thrown out of his 
carriage, to see what the trouble was. As he opened the 
door ho saw Payne standing close up to it. As soon 
as the door was opened wide enough Payne rushed in, 
striking Sergeant Robinson as he passed, knocking him 
down ; rushing up to the bed where the^helpless Secre- 
tary of State lay, he drew a large knife and made a lunge 
at the Secretary's head. The Secretary was sitting 
partially up in the bed, his head reclining a little to one 
side, so that as the knife descended it cut his face down 
on the left side and ran into the neck. Payne, to make 
sure that the job was complete, made another strike, 
cutting the Secretary on the other side of the neck. As 
soon as the nurse regained his feet, he ran to the bed 
and endeavored to pull the murderer off his helpless 
victim. As the nurse came up Payne turned upon him. 
They clinched, and while they were scuffling Major A. 
H. Seward came into the room, having been attracted 
by the screams of his sister. The gas being low as he 
entered the room, he saw what appeared to be two men, 
one trying to hold the other ; his first impression being 
that his father had become delirious, and that the nurse 
was trying to hold him, he ran up and took hold of 
Payne, and at once saw from his size and his struggles 
that it was not his father. He then thought that the 
nurse had become delirious, and was striking about the 
room at random. Knowing the delicate state of his 



312 THE ASSASSINATION PLOT. 

father's health, he endeavored to shove the person he 
had hold of to the door ; as he was doing this, Payne 
struck him five or six tiines over the head with what he 
had in his left hand (a pistol,) supposed at the time 
to be a bottle or a decanter that he had seized from the 
table. 

During the scuffle Payne cried out "lam mad, I am 
mad." As the three neared the door Payne clinched 
his hand around the neck of the nurse and knocked him 
down with his fist; then giving a sudden turn, he broke 
away from Majtft Seward and rushed down the stairs to 
the front door, leaving his hat behind. On reaching 
the street he mounted his horse and rode rapidly away. 
Major Sew r ard did not realize the situation until after 
Payne was out of sight. 

As soon as the nurse could regain his feet he went 
to the bed and found the Secretary lying on the floor 
weltering in his blood ; assisting him in bed he sent for 
a surgeon. Surgeon General Barnes, hearing of the 
affray, went to the house and found the Secretary 
wounded in three places, and Mr. Frederick Seward in- 
sensible in the adjoining room, badly wounded in the 
head. Both the Secretary's and his son's wounds were 
considered very dangerous, but they have since recov- 
ered . The vengeance of a just God is sw T ift and sure. 

After Booth escaped from the theatre he was tracked 
through the south of Maryland, across the Potomac 
river into Virginia, to the barn of a man named Garrett, 
in Caroline county, where one of his accomplices, Herold, 
was captured, and Booth met his death, being shot 
in the head (by Sergeant Boston Corbett, of the lGth 
Now York cavalry) very near the spot where he (Booth) 
shot the President. After having been shot, he was ta- 



FIRING INTO A CHURCH. 313 

ken out of the barn, it having been previously fired to 
make him surrender, if possible; and having been laid 
down on the porch of Mr. Garrett's house, he lingered 
about three hours, when he died, paying the debt he 
owed both God and man. 

When Payne escaped from the house of the Secre- 
tary of State, he wandered about the streets for two 
or three days when he was arrested at the house of 
one of the conspirators, Mrs. Surratt, on II street, near 
Sixth, dressed in the attire of a laborer. Having been 
fully identified, he was tried by a military commission, 
was fully convicted, and suffered the penalty of his 
crime on the gallows, with three other of the conspir- 
ators, Atzerott, Harold, and Mary E. Surratt, in the 
yard of the old Penitentiary building, at the foot 
of Four-and-a-half street, Washington, D. C, on the 
seventh day of July, 1865, between the hours of one 
and two o'clock p. m.* 



FIRING INTO A CHURCH. 

Comment is unnecessary on such an outrage as this. 
The mere fact of men firing into a church, indiscri- 
minately, upon unarmed men who were gathered to- 
gether to worship God, without the demand of sur- 
render, is enough. 

The following is a statement of Walter E. H. Fen- 
tress, acting master, commanding United States 
steamer Rattler, who was captured during the affray: 

On the 12th of September, 1863, as the steamer 
Rattler was lying off Rodney, Miss., I went on shore 

* See official record of the conspirators at Washington, D. C. 



314 ANDERSONVILLE PKISON. 

to attend divine service, which was performed in a 
church not two hundred yards distant from the steamer, 
and in open view. * * * * We had just entered, 
and were seated in the church, when a squad of fifty 
cavalry dashed upon us, and opened fire from the win- 
dows and doors. I endeavored to stop this brutal fire 
upon unarmed men, but was fired upon by the fiends, 
and slightly wounded in the back. My hands were 
tied, and I was made fast to a horse and compelled to 
keep pace with them five miles. My treatment since 
my capture has been brutal. 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 

[From the official report of the trial of Henry Wirz.] 

This horrible pen of misery and death will ever be 
remembered by those poor unfortunate creatures, who, 
through misfortune, were unlucky enough to be con- 
fined there; but who, through the kind providence of 
a merciful God, were snatched from the very claws of 
death, and permitted once again to breathe the pure 
air of freedom. 

Much has been said, and much will be said, about 
this place of woe. Fiction cannot, in its most extrava- 
gant rhetoric, overrate the sufferings and privations 
endured by our patriotic soldiers, who, at the tap of 
the drum, tore themselves from their homos, their 
wives, their children, and all that they held dear, and 
shouldered the musket to battle for the preservation 
of this great and glorious republic. Time may moul- 
der and decay other republics, but, with such soldieis, 




Private FRANCIS W. BEEDLE, 

Company M, 8th Michigan Cavalry, Admitted per Steamer New 
York, from Richmond, Va., May 2d, 1864. Died May 3d, 1801, from 
effects of treatment while in the hands of the enemy. — U. S. General 
Hospital, Div. No. 1, Annapolis, Mil. 3"> 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 315 

ours will stand as long as God permits this planet to 
be inhabited by man. They needed not the second call 
to rally and sustain the honor of that flag that now, 
thank God ! waves proudly over every foot of soil from 
the great St. Lawrence to the noble Rio Grande, and 
from the angry Atlantic to the calm Pacific; and 
proudly may it wave over that soil, made twice dear to 
us by the blood of thousands upon thousands of heroic 
men, who bravely laid their bosoms bare, and fear- 
lessly marched to the cannon's mouth to sustain its 
honor. Palsied be the arm and withered the hand 
that dare pull down that proud emblem of human lib- 
erty and lay it in the dust. 

The stockade, inside of which the prisoners were 
confined, was located by Captains R. B. and W. S. 
"Winder, and was commenced in the latter part of No- 
vember or early part of December, 1863, and was built 
of roughly hewn pine logs, about eight inches in diam- 
eter, inserted in the ground about five feet, and pro- 
jecting above the ground fifteen feet, enclosing an 
area of five hundred and fifty by two hundred and 
sixty yards, and surrounded by earth-works, with six 
and twelve-pound guns mounted on them, all point- 
ing towards the stockade, for the benefit of the pris- 
oners if they attempted to escape. 

The fiend who commanded this famous prison 
(whose name will go down to posterity as one of the 
blackest-hearted villains that ever was permitted to 
breathe God's pure air) was one Henry Wirz, a fugi- 
tive from justice, who held a commission as captain in 
the army of the Jeff. Davis oligarchy, and a fit subject 
to carry out the damnable designs of such men as Jeff. 
Davis and his satellites. It appears that he had abso- 
lute control over the whole prison. Ho issued all 



316 ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 

orders, and such was his tyranny that he would not 
even allow a surgeon to enter the stockade to see the 
sick without first applying to him for a pass, and this 
it appears he seldom granted. His office was above 
the stockade, and was a frame building, over the door 
of which were the following words : " Officer in Com- 
mand of Andersonville Prison.' ' 

The villain's soul was so deadened to all feelings of 
humanity, that it seemed he took delight in inventing 
schemes to torture the poor creatures who were so 
unfortunate as to be placed in his hands, after being 
captured while battling for the most sacred rights of 
man. The following are the names of the most prom- 
inent tortures : 

Dead-Line, Stocks, Chain-Gang, Thumb -Torture, 
Bucking, Gagging, Vaccination, Sun-Torture, Whip- 
ping, and Starvation ; which I will endeavor to de- 
scribe as far as my knowledge of them extends, com- 
mencing with the — 

Dead Line. — This place of torture was a slight- 
made railing, which ran parallel with the stockade (in- 
side) and at a distance of about twenty feet from it. 
Wirz, with a half dozen other men, layed it out in the 
latter part of April, 1864, it is said, by authority of 
the Rebel General Winder. Wirz issued the orders 
to the guards to shoot the prisoners if they were seen 
crossing, or even reaching over it. The guards desig- 
nated to commit these willful murders were stationed 
on a platform, which ran around the stockade on the 
outside of it near the top, enabling the guard to look 
over into the prison. An inducement, in the shape of 
a thirty days' furlough, was offered to the guards to 
commit these murders. Whenever a new guard was 
put on, Wirz could be seen going around giving them 



ANDERSON VILLE PRISON. 317 

special instructions in regard to shooting the prison- 
ers. On one occasion he was seen going up to one of 
the guards, who was on the platform near where a 
small creek ran across this accursed line, and, in tones 
loud enough to be heard, told the guard to shoot any 

d n Yankee that even reached over the line. Just 

as he had finished giving the order, one of the prison- 
ers reached over the line for some water; the guard 
seeing him, raised his gun and fired, killing the poor 
fellow instantly. As a matter of course the guard was 
immediately relieved. The guards, before entering 
upon duty, received special instructions not to warn 
any of the prisoners to go back if they attempted to 
cross the line, but to shoot them down like dogs. If 
the guards did not strictly obey this order they were 
severely punished. The prisoners on entering the 
stockade were not informed of the existence of the 
dead line, and thereby a great many of them were 
launched into eternity while ignorant of committing 
any trespass or violating any order. Whenever a pris- 
oner was shot Wirz could be seen mounting the plat- 
form, and going up to the guard, would congratulate 
him for being so prompt in carrying out his orders; 
and, as a matter of course, he would be relieved for his 
brave act by this humane commander ! 

When any of the prisoners were shot inside this line, 
his comrades were afraid to go over and get the body; 
for, if they did; they would suffer the same penalty. 
Therefore the body would lie there until ordered by 
Wirz to be taken away. 

The guards were not restricted to shooting of the 
prisoners, even if they were not near the dead line; 
but, if they were so inclined, they were permitted to 
fire into the stockade among the prisoners. It was a 



318 ANDERSON VILLE PRISON. 

frequent occurrence for tbe prisoners tu hear the re- 
port of a gun in the night, and whtn they awoke 
in the morning would find one or more of their 
comrades lying dead on the ground with a bullet hole 
in him. 

The first man who suffered death after this accursed 
line was established was an insane German. He had 
just drawn his ration, and was returning with it, when 
he dropped his bread, which rolled inside of this line. 
He was in the act of stooping under the line to 
pick it up, when, one of the guards seeing him, he shot 
him, killing him instantly. At the junction where the 
creek ran through this line of death the railing was 
broken down. The prisoners used to congregate there 
in large numbers to get water, as it was clearer there 
than at any other place on the stream, and there many 
a poor creature suffered death, by being accidently 
crowded over the line by his comrades, unintentionally, 
in their eagerness to get pure water. The prisoners 
had also dug a number of wells inside the stockade, 
and one of these was near the line; and here also 
many a pooriellow paid the penalty of death by be- 
ing unfortunate in reaching over or getting too near 
this line. . None but fiends could be guilty of such 
brutality. 

The Stocks. — These instruments of torture, it ap- 
pears, were situated between the stockade and Wirz's 
headquarters, and were composed of thick boards or 
planks, two of which were placed upright with an- 
other across the top of them, in which was made a 
hole large enough for a man's head to protrude. "When 
a prisoner was brought out to be put in the stocks, if 
he happened to have a hat on, it was taken away by 
the guards, and his head thrusted through this hole, 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 319 

with his face turned towards the sun; and, thus secured, 
the arms of the victim would then be streched out to 
their utmost extent, and placed in holes made in the up- 
rights for that purpose, and there fastened. In most in- 
stances the feet of the poor sufferer would scarcely 
touch the ground, and in this position he would be 
kept all day long. Food would generally be withheld 
from them while they were in the stocks, thus hasten- 
ing death. Some who had constitutions like iron 
would live through it. It is known that this incarna- 
ted devil (Wirz) has kept men in these accursed things 
for two and three days at a time, and very often they 
would become senseless, and remain in this condition 
a long-time before they were taken out; and often they 
would not be taken out until they were quite dead. 
The faces of those who died in the stocks were quite 
black, as if they had been strangled or choked to 
death. There were as high as eight men in these 
stocks at one time. It did not matter whether it was 
raining or not, the victim's face would be turned up- 
wards. A great many of the poor sufferers, after they 
were taken out of the stocks, would linger for a short 
time and die from the effects of it. 

The stocks designated as the spread-eagle stocks, 
were constructed on the same plan as the others, only 
with an addition of holes for the feet of the prisoner; 
his arms and feet would be stretch to their utmost 
extension, and then fastened. These stocks would 
hold two persons. 

There was still another mode of stock torture. These 
I designate as the feet stocks, and were constructed 
of plankst with holes in them about a foot from the 
ground. The feet of the prisoner would be placed in 
these holes and there fastened. Through great exer- 



320 ANDERSONVILLE PEISON. 

tions, the person thu s punished could sit up ; but in 
most cases they were compelled to lie down, with their 
backs upon the ground, and their faces exposed to the 
sun. The person placed in these stocks generally 
had a ball and chain attached to his arms. 

Chain Gang. — This mode of torture like the stocks 
was of a varied nature, there being different gangs, and 
these varied in numbers. The first, or main gang, con- 
sisted of twelve or sixteen men, and these were subdi- 
vided into fours, which were placed in double files or 
two ranks. Iron collars were fastened on the necks of 
the men, then a small chain extended from the collar 
of one man to that of the other, and so on until the 
whole four were linked together. A chain was then 
attached to the inner leg of each of the four men, one 
end of which was secured to a sixty-four pound ball 
which they were compelled to carry. Then a small 
ball and chain was attached to the other leg of each 
man. To complete this net- work of chains a large 
chain ran between the ranks, extending the entire 
length of the gang, thus uniting the several subdivis- 
ions. This chain was secured to the smaller chains 
which connected the several files. It mattered not 
whether the prisoners were sick or not they would be 
put in the gang. There was a case where one poor 
creature was put in one of these gangs, who was very 
ill with the chronic diarrhoea, and who was kept there 
until he was so weak that he could not move; he was 
then taken out, but a ball and chain was kept on him 
until he died, which was a few days after he had been 
taken out of the gang. 

The second gang was composed of about five men, 
who were chained to a large ball and kept standing in 
the sun. At times one man would be chained to a 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 321 

hundred pound ball. The men were kept in the chain 
gang from twenty-five to thirty days, being liberated 
one hour out of every five, so that they could endure 
the torture the longer. 

When the men were sentenced to the chain gang 
they were taken to the blacksmith's shop, where col- 
lars and shackles would be riveted on them. This 
damnable torture was in full operation until General 
Stoneman made his raid toward Andersonville, then 
Wirz, through fear, broke it up. 

Thumb Torture. — This mode of torture was as fol- 
lows : The prisoner's hands were placed together, 
and a stout cord tied tightly around their thumbs, 
then their arms would be raised as high above their 
heads as they could reach, the cord thrown across the 
limb of a tree or post, erected for that purpose, in 
this manner the victim would be drawn up until he 
was compelled to stand on his tip-toes, and they barely 
touching the ground, and would be kept in this posi- 
tion for a long time with nothing to lean against. The 
poor sufferer when cut down would drop down on the 
ground entirely exhausted ; after being released ho 
could not use his hands for months, they being much 
swollen. 

Bucking. — This punishment was inflicted in the 
following manner: The prisoner's wrists would be 
tied together with a stout cord; they were then obliged 
to sit down and bend over in order to thrust the knees 
between the arms, a stick was then put over their 
arms and under their knees, and in this position they 
were compelled to sit. The effects of this torture 
upon the persons thus punished was terrible ; their 
limbs would become perfectly paralyzed, and remain 
so for some days. 



322 ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 

Gagging. — This torture was inflicted as follows : 
The prisoner's arms would be tied behind their backs 
with a cord secured around their elbows, and drawn 
as tightly together as possible, without absolutely 
breaking their limbs, so that the sufferers could not 
reach their months with their hands; then they would 
be compelled to open their mouths, a and bayonet or a 
strong stick (the bayonet is generally used) would be 
inserted between their teeth. A cord was then fastened 
to one end of the bayonet or stick, and run around 
the back of the head, and generally drawn so tight 
that it compelled the victim to keep his mouth wide 
open, causing him the most excruciating pains. While 
enduring this torture the victim's tongue would be- 
come so swollen that when let loose he would not be 
able to 'speak for many days. In many instances the 
prisoners would be bucked and gagged at the same 
time, thereby the torture became almost unindurable. 

Vaccination. — This torture was one of the most 
damnable of tortures that fiends could devise. As the 
process of vaccination is known to almost every per- 
son it is useless to explain it here. Suffer me to say 
that all the prisoners were ordered by Wirz to endure 
this torture. If any of the prisoners refused they 
were immediately put into the stocks or chain gang, 
and kept there until they consented to submit to un- 
dergo the process of vaccination. It is well known 
that the art of vaccination has in all preceding ages 
been used for a blessing to mankind, but in this case 
the villain used the rankest of poison, thus reversing 
this humanly intended purpose, making it a curse, and 
causing the most excruciating tortures. 

The surgeons would congregate together in the 
evening and exult over the number of prisoners that 




Private CHARLES R. WOODWORTII, 
Company G, 8th Michigan Cavalry, Admitted from Flag-of-truce 
boat, April 18th, 1864.— West's Building Hospital, Baltimore, Md. 51 



ANDELSONVILLE PRISON. 323 

each had poisoned during the day by vaccination, say- 
ing that the}' had been ordered by Wirz to do it, and 
they were in for killing or disabling as many of the 
d d Yankees as possible. This vaccination pro- 
duced different results ; on some it would create sores 
(such as are produced by the disease itself) on their 
bodies and under their arms as large as a man's hand. 
On others the flesh would rot all round the place 
where the vaccine was inserted, gangreen would very 
often set in, and then the arm of the prisoner would 
have to be amputated. 

Vincent Halley, of the 7 2d New York volunteers, 
saw, at one time, one hundred and fifty cases where 
gangreen had set in ; he remarks, that the sores on 
their bodies were awful to behold. 

Samuel Andrews, saw men who had become insane 
from the effects of vaccination, and would wander 
around, suffering the most intense agony until they 
fell down and -died. 

Wirz visited the grave-yard one day with some 
visiting surgeons, who examined the bodies of some 
of the men who had been brought out to the grave 1 
yard that day, by cutting their heads open, <fec. ; the 
surgeons remarked to Wirz that, some of the men 
whom they had examined had died from the effects of 
inoculation, which had spread in green streaks from 
the arms of the victims to their bodies. Wirz laughed, 
and said, the G — d d — d Yankee s — s of b — s, I am 
giving them the land that they came to fight for — just 
six feet. The sores on the arms of some of the poor 
sufferers would become alive with larvae before they 
died. 

Sun-Torture. — This torture was, to compel the 
prisoner to stand in the hot sun for hours at a time. 



324 ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 

without allowing them a drop of water to quench their 
thirst. For minor offences, WirzVould keep a whole 
squad, of ninety men, standing in line in the sun for 
a whole day at a time. The reader may easily im- 
agine what effect this treatment had upon the poor 
unfortunate . creatures, who through starvation and 
sickness, were already so reduced as barely to be able 
to support their emaciated frames. When a squad 
was compelled to stand up, Wirz would order the 
guards to shoot any of the prisoners who stepped out 
of the ranks, under any pretext whatever; and if any 
of the prisoners would fall down from the effects of a 
stroke from the sun, there they would have to lie and 
suffer, where their comrades could see them in the last 
struggles of death, and could not offer them any assist- 
ance, or be allowed to carry them in the shade, be- 
cause this fiend of torture wished to satisfy his satanic 
appetite by taking their lives. 

When a new squad of prisoners were brought to An- 
dersonvile as an introductory iniation to the tortures 
they were to endure in this minature hell, they were 
taken to Wirz's headquarters, and there they would 
be compelled to stand in the hot sun for hours, (pro- 
bably after having walked for many miles before they 
got into his hands,) until it suited his fiendish conven- 
ience to order them to be counted off and sent into 
the stockade. 

Whipping. — In whipping the prisoners they gener- 
ally used hickory switches about four feet long or a 
leather strap about two-and-a-half feet long and from 
two to two-and-a-half inches wide. When a prisoner 
was to be whipped he was stripped to to his waist, 
and tied across a log or barrel, and then whipped from 
head to foot, generally receiving from one hundred to 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 325 

two hundred and fifty strokes. Almost every blow 
would cause the blood to flow. After being whipped 
the poor creatures would be let loose, and turned into 
the stockade, and their wounds, no matter how serious 
from the effects of this flogging, were left to heal the 
best they might. The screams of the poor creatures 
while enduring this torture could be heard for a great 
distance. 

Starvation. — It seems almost beyond belief that in 
this enlightened age there should live men so devoid 
of feeling, so deadened to all sense of humanity, so in- 
exorable to the duties of nature's first law as to com- 
pel human beings to undergo the frightful horrors 
of starvation, but this, I regret to say, has been 
done by Wirz and his coadjutors to the unfortunate 
men who were prisoners at Andersonville. It is 
useless to deny this, because it has been established 
beyond doubt by the testimony of hundreds of wit- 
nesses during the trial of the heinous monster who 
had direct control of the prisoners. Would to God 
that this was the only evidence that we had to offer 
to establish the truth of this assertion. The mind re- 
coils back in horror in contemplation of the scenes that 
are now witnessed throughout the entire land where 
the forms of thousands of decrepit and emaciated 
beings are scattered. Look at these and you will see 
living examples of this hellish attempt upon their 
lives ; the effect of the treatment that they received 
has so broken down their constitutions as to render 
them totally unfit for either menial or physical exer- 
tion. Having been by this hellish torture deprived 
alike of their reason and every other manly qualifica- 
tion which kind Providence had bestowed upon them, 
the/ wander about, abject and miserable beings, with- 



326 ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 

out the hope of ever being restored to themselves or 
their families. 

Kind reader imagine to yourself all the comforts of 
a good and plentiful home, and then accompany me, as 
it were, to Anderson ville, and there behold the scenes 
of woe and misery caused by the most wicked and un- 
heard of treatment. Oh ! what a contrast. 

There you could see men, or rather shadows of 
men, wandering about in a state of lunacy, (the ef- 
fects of starvation,) with their eyes bent on the 
ground vatnly seeking for something wherewithal! 
to sustain life. Some could be seen with out- 
stretched arms, and without addressing themselves 
to any particular object, imploring for something to 
eat; others too much reduced to walk would crawl 
upon their hands and knees, lifting or scattering about 
any object under which they thought they might, 
perchance, find something to eat. Some of these help- 
less creatures were entirely nude, and to such a de- 
plorable condition were some of them reduced, that 
to satisfy the cravings of fierce hunger, they would 
pick up and greedily devour beans, &c., that had 
passed through the bowels of the other prisoners un- 
digested, others would search through the offal and 
refuse matter of the camp for food, wash it, and then 
eat it. At length some of the poor creatures, entirely 
despairing, would deliberately walk over the dead line 
to be shot, or put an end to their miseries by commit- 
ting suicide. 

Wirz has repeatedly said that he would starve every 

d d Yankee in the stockade, and exult over the 

number that were dying of starvation, saying that he 
was killing more men than Lee was at the front. 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 3^7 

So great were the cravings of hunger that the poor 
sufferers would reach under the dead line in search of 
crumbs when they knew it was almost certain death 
to do so. The prisoners were neglected in every re- 
spect. You could see at all times poor cripples craw- 
ling upon the ground. A great many could not move 
at all; these were left lying on the bare ground with- 
out the slightest attention being paid to them. 

Doctor Thornburg, a rebel surgeon, stationed at 
this prison, testified that a large majority of those who 
died could have been saved had a proper quantity of 
food been furnished them. And the small quantity 
that was furnished them was entirely unfit for human 
beings to eat, it being at times full of vermin. 

I will now cite the case of a poor young man who 
was shamefully treated by this fiend. To give the 
reader a better view of the frightful sufferings of 
these unfortunate creatures confined there, the poor 
creature referred to was lying sick on the ground, 
almost dead with the chronic diarrhoea, while he was 
lying there suffering, Wirz happened to pass near by, 
the poor sufferer seeing him, called, and asked him for 
a piece of bread, saying that he was starving, and that 
he was too weak to go after his ration; when he was 
clone Wirz turned around and struck him on the head 
with a large whip he had in his hand, the poor suffer- 
er swooned, he was then taken to the hospital and 
died shortly after. 

The cry put forth by some, of the scarcity of pro- 
visions at Andersonville, is simply an invention to ex- 
cuse or palliate this damnable crime, as it is well known 
from the evidence given that there were large store- 
houses at the depot, which was but a short distance 
from the prison, and these were always filled with 



328 ANDRRSONVILLE PRISON. 

provisions; furthermore, the whole world is acquaint- 
ed with the noble efforts of the Sanitary and Christian 
Commissions to relieve the sufferings of the soldiers 
confined there, by sending to them large quantities 
of good and substantial food, yet this was never given 
them for fear they would derive too much nourishment 
from it, and this would have been inconsistent with 
their original idea of treating Yankees. Wirz and 
others were seen very often eating their provisions, 
and it has also been clearly proven that a great quan- 
tity of these provisions were permitted to lay there 
until they spoiled, rather than they would allow the 
prisoners have them. To prove more conclusively 
that provisions could be had for the prisoners if they 
chose to furnish them, I will refer the reader to the 
act of the rebel congress, requiring the farmers to pay 
as tithes one-tenth of all the produce raised on their 
farms. The Georgia legislature also passed a law, the 
second year of the war, prohibiting the farmers from 
planting more than two acres of cotton, all the rest 
had to be planted in provisions. By summing up the 
amount thus accumulated in but a few counties it will 
be seen that a sufficient quantity was collected to en- 
able them to furnish the prisoners the proper quantity 
they required. In October, 1864, the confederate 
authorities slaughtered at Oglethorpe from 50,000 to 
60,000 head of hogs. 

Each county in Georgia, like every other of the 
southern States, had a ware-house where the county 
tithe collector would have all the produce collected, 
and from there it would be shipped to the points where 
it was needed. In 1863, a good crop of corn and 
vegetables was raised in Georgia, and a large quan- 
tity of this was sent to Andersonville, still the prison- 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 329 

ers were insufficiently fed. It is also proven that a 
good crop, yes, a surplus, was raised in Georgia in the 
year 1864. In this year, it is said, that there was an 
unusual large supply of vegetables ; there was also 
large cornfields within sight of the prison. 

I will here give you an account of the produce 
collected by one of the tithe agents (Walter D. Dav- 
enport) in the counties of Sump ter, Webster, Marion, 
and Schley. Marion and Schley are very small coun- 
ties, in fact, none of these counties are very large : 
247,768 pounds of bacon, 38,900 bushels of corn, 
3,567 bushels of wheat, 3,420 pounds of rice, 817 
bushels of peas, 3,700 gallons of sirup, 1,166 pounds 
of sugar. The foregoing were for the year 1864, and 
from January 1, 1865, to April, 1865, the time of the 
surrender, there was collected 155,726 pounds of 
bacon, 13,591, bushels of corn, 86 bushels of wheat, 
(remnant due on old crop,) 2,077 pounds of rice, 854 
bushels of peas, 5,082 gallons of sirup, 56 pounds of 
sugar, &c, &c. 

So horrible was the treatment of the prisoners at 
this place that it even created the sympathy of the 
ladies in the vicinity, they went even so far as to col- 
lect together a large quantity of provisions, and car- 
ried them to Andersonville, when they arrived there 
they were refused permission to carry them to the 
prisoners by General Winder, who happened to be 
there when the provisions were brought up by the la- 
dies', he positively refused to let them pass, saying 
that he believed the whole country was becoming Yan- 
kee, and the effort to relieve the prisoners was a slur 
upon the confederate government, and he was going 
to put a stop to it; it was best for the Yankees to die. 
And this companion in guilt of Wirz's had the gal- 



330 ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 

lantry to use language to the ladies, (God bless them,) 
that a blackguard would be ashamed to utter. Dur- 
ing this villain's conversation with the ladies Wirz 
remarked that if he had his way he would build a 
house at Andersonville, and the ladies' should be put 
in it for a vile purpose. These men are mere speci- 
mens of the villains who so long deluded the minds of 
the southern people. 

If the prisoners happened to get a few vegetables, 
&c, when they were allowed to go out of the stockade 
for wood, they would be searched at the gate, and 
the vegetables taken from them. 

For very simple offences Wirz would stop the ra- 
tions of a whole squad of ninety men, (the prisoners 
were divided off in squads of nineties.) Sometimes 
for his own devilish gratifications, he would stop the 
rations of all the prisoners in the stockade for days at 
a time; for instance the rations of the prisoners were 
stopped from the third to the fifth of July, because 
the Fourth was regarded by the prisoners as a day of 
national rejoicing. When one of the prisoners es- 
caped, the rations of the whole squad that he was in, 
was stopped for four or five days. On one occasion 
Wirz ordered a squad of prisoners to move from one 
place in the stockade to another, some of them walked 
faster than it suited his pleasure, and as a revenge, he 
stopped the rations of the whole squad, which had the 
effect of starving to death Hugh Lynch, Wm. Keizer, 
and Wm. Waterhowers. 

It has been stated in the evidence before the com- 
mission, by the men who were then confined in this 
place of woe, that they could eat all the rations that 
were allowed them in a day at one meal, and then be 
hungry. 




Private JOHN BRELNTG, 
Company G 4th Kentucky Cavalry, Admitted April 18th, 1864. 
Improved a httle for two weeks, then gradually failed and died.- 
\\ est s Bm.ding Hospital, Baltimore, Md. 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 331 

There was as high as 33,000 prisoners in the stock- 
ade at one time, and these were in the most horrible 
condition, being filthy, naked, and swarming with 
vermin, and without shelter, some were crazy; in fact, 
the horrors of the place are indesirable. I will here 
insert that portion of the report of the rebel Col. D. 
S. Chandler to the authorities at Richmond, which re- 
fers to the condition of the prisoners confined there, 
and let the reader form his own conclusion from the 
facts stated by one of their own officers. After de- 
scribing the locality of the prison he goes on to say 
thus : 

The federal prisoners of war are cod fined within a 
stockade fifteen feet high, enclosing an area of 550 by 
2G0 yards, about 3| acres, near the centre of the en- 
closure, are so marshy as to be at present unfit for 
occupation, reducing the available present area to 
about 23£ acres, which gives something less than six 
square feet to each prisoner. Even this has been con- 
stantly reduced by the additions to their number. 

A small stream passes from west to east through 
the enclosure at about 150 yards from its southern 
limits, excepting the edges of the stream, the soil is 
sandy, and easily drained, but from thirty to fifty 
} T ards on each side of it the ground is muddy, marshy, 
and totally unfit for occupation, and having been con- 
stantly used as a sink since the prison was first estab- 
lished, it is now in a shocking condition and cannot 
fail to breed pestilence. 

No shelter whatever, nor materials for constructing 
any have been provided by the prison authorities, 
and the grounds being entirely bare of trees, none is 
within reach of the prisoners. Each man has been 
permitted to protect himself the best he can ; by stretch- 



332 ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 

ing his blanket, (if he had one,) or whatever he may 
have about him on such sticks as he may procure. * * 

The whole number of prisoners is divided into 
messes of two hundred and seventy, and subdivisions 
of ninety men, each under a sergeant of their own 
number and selection, and but one confederate States 
officer; in consequence of this fact the absence of all 
regularity in the prison grounds, and there being no 
barracks or tents, there are, and can be no regulations 
established for the ' 'police consideration for the health, 
comfort, and sanitary condition of those within the en- 
closure/ ' and none are practicable under existing cir- 
cumstances. 

There is no medical attendance furnished within 
the stockade. The sick are directed to be brought out 
by the sergeants of squads daily, at sick call, to the 
medical officer who attends at the gate. The crowd 
at these times is so great that only the strongest can 
get access to the doctors. And the hospital accora 
modations are so limited that though the beds (so- 
called) have all, or nearly all, two occupants each, 
large numbers who would otherwise be received are 
necessarily sent back to the stockade. Many are 
carted out daily who have died from unknown causes, 
and whom the medical officers have never seen. The 
dead are hauled out daily by the wagon load, and 
buried without coffins. Their hands, in many in- 
stances, being first mutilated with an axe in the re- 
moval of any finger-rings they might have. 

The sanitary condition of the prisoners is as wretched 
as can be ; the principle causes of mortality being scur- 
vy and chronic diarrhoea. Nothing seems to have 
been done, and but little, if any, effort made to arrest 
it by procuring proper food. Raw rations have been 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 333 

issued to a very large portion who are entirely unpro- 
vided with proper utensils, and furnished with so 
limited a supply of the fuel, they are compelled to dig 
with their hands in the filthy marsh for roots, &c. 
No soap or clothing has ever been issued. After in- 
quiry I am confident that, by slight exertions, green 
corn and other anti-scarbutics could be readily ob- 
tained. It is impossible to state the number of sick, 
many dying within the stockade, whom the medical 
officers never see or hear of till their remains are 
brought out for interment. The ratio of deaths has 
steadily increased from 37-4-10 per cent, during the 
month of March last, to 72-7-10 per cent, in July. 
This report was dated Andersonville, Aug. 5, 1864. 

Inside the stockade the prisoners, through great ex- 
ertions, had managed to dig a few wells, for the purpose 
of getting drinking water, with plates, spoons, &c, as 
they were not allowed spades or shovels to dig them 
with, for that would be helping the poor creatures too 
much, who were so unfortunate as to be confined there, 
to sustain life, and thereby totally reverse the princi- 
ples of the so-called Confederate government. There 
were also a number of small springs inside the stock- 
ade, but these wells and springs furnished very little 
water, and thereby the greater portion of the thirty- 
three thousand prisoners confined there were com- 
pelled as a last resort to get the greater part of their 
drinking water from a small stream of filth, (the creek 
referred to in Col. Chandler's report.) It cannot be 
called water. 

The first-cook house was situated in the northwest 
part of the stockade, the second one in the northeast 
part; the last one was erected in September 18G4. 
The first one was a large frame building, with brick 



334 ANDRRSONVILLE PRISON. 

bakeries. All the drainage from these places, they 
being situated on sloping ground, were washed into 
this stream and ran down through the stockade. At 
first all the rations, such as meat, beans, &c, for the 
whole number — thirty-three thousand prisoners — were 
cooked at the first bake house. Dr. Barrows, in his 
evidence before the commission , stated that the con- 
dition of this place was horrible, and beyond descrip- 
tion, that no one could live in the vicinity of it and 
enjoy good health. The stench from this place was 
awful in its best days. 

The guards of the prison, numbering some four or 
five thousand men, were encamped on both sides of 
this stream, just above the stockade, and whenever it 
rained the washings from their camps and sinks would 
wash down into this stream, and run through the prison. 

The ground on the east side of the stockade, outside, 
was marshy and blocked up with logs, having been 
thrown or fallen into it and all drebis and vegetable 
matter would naturally congregate here, thereby pro- 
ducing a large quantity of maggots, white ants, and all 
such insects as result from the decay of an accumulation 
of vegetable or animal matter in such places, and these 
necessarily washed into this stream. 

Martin T. Hogan, in his evidence, stated that the 
filth of the camps, inside the stockade, washed into this 
stream during each rain; the water, he says, was not 
suitable for use either for washing or drinking pur- 
poses, as he had seen a large mass of maggots and filth 
of every kind in it. James H. Davidson stated that he 
had seen plenty of vermin in it. There were not sinks 
enough inside of the stockade to accommodate one- 
twentieth of the men, and they therefore were com- 
pelled to use the swamp, which occupied about one- 
fifth of the enclosure, and this was at one time a foot 



ANDEESONVILLE TRISON. 335 

deep with maggots and human excrement, and 
the drainage of this swamp ran into the stream. 

John H. Stevens stated that he remembered a case 
of a man, where the maggots from the stream got on 
his clothes and attacked his nose and eyes, penetrating 
the victim, causing him excruciating pain and after a 
few days resulting in death, he also stated that he had 
seen a number of other cases similar to the above; 
other witnesses state that they have seen the same. 

Who would ever imagine that human beings, men 
created after the image of God, and the noblest piece 
of his handiwork, would have been compelled to drink 
such filth; yes, and here at this stream, which must 
have been, at times, a living mass of maggots, filth, 
&c, could at all times be seen poor unfortunate pris- 
oners who, through starvation, and bad treatment 
w T ere unable to walk, crawling up to it on their hands 
and knees, with pails and cups in their mouths, to get 
this filth to drink; there were a great many who were 
encamped away from it who were too weak to get to 
it to quench their thirst, yes, and hundreds who 
through great exertions had managed to crawl up to 
the side of it and there die. 

There seemed to be a regular system of robbing in- 
stituted by the prison authorities. It seemed they 
were not satisfied in robbing the poor prisoners of their 
lives, but would take everything of value from them 
while living, and then strip them of their clothes after 
they were dead. When a new squad of prisoners 
were brought in they would be drawn up in line be- 
fore Wirz's headquarters, then they would be ordered 
to take off their knapsacks, haversacks, canteens, &c, 
and pile them up in front of the ranks; after this was 
done, Wirz would tell the guards to take what they 



336 ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 

wished; then this prince of thieves would tell the pris- 
oners to take what was left, (nothing.) When the men 
who were captured during the raid of General Stone- 
man near Andersonville were brought in, they were 
stripped of nearly all their clothing, and turned into 
the stockade almost naked. The guard it seems were 
as light-fingered as their commander, they would rob 
the prisoners every chance they could get, and the rob- 
bing became so general that the prisoners applied to 
Wirz for protection. After hearing their protest he 
laughed at them, and said, that it served them right, 
and bully for the guard, or something to that effect. 

The letters of all the prisoners were broken open, 
that is the letters that were sent to them from their 
friends in the north, and everything of value, such as 
money, &c, taken from them, and the letters given to 
the prisoners. At all times could be seen sanitary 
goods, that had been sent to the prisoners, on Wirz, 
and, in fact, upon all the rest of the rebels around the 
prison, even to the guards. The shoes that were sent 
to the prisoners by their friends in the north were 
seen on the feet of Wirz's slaves. 

One of the prisoners, a Mr. Stevenson, died shortly 
after entering the stockade. He had respectable 
clothes on; Joseph Adlen asked Wirz that he might be 
buried in them. This Wirz promised should be done. 
Shortly after, Wirz with two guards, went to where 
Mr. Stevenson laid, and stripped him of all his cloth- 
ing, and he was thus buried. 

A prisoner belonging to a Michigan regiment,(name 
forgotten.) had taken from him a daguereotype likeness 
of his dead wife, and his two children. While Wirz 
Was looking at them, he asked him to be kind enough 
to return them when done looking at them; without 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON 337 

making any answer, Wirz threw the likeness on the 
ground and stamped upon it. This thief took another 
likeness of a young lady from one of the prisoners, af- 
ter looking at it for sometime he made vulgar remarks 
about the young lady; the prisoner remonstrated, 
Wirz drew out his pistol, and placing it to the man's 
head, said that he would blow out his brains if he ut- 
tered another word. 

About the last of June, 1864, a wounded prisoner 
named Underwood, of company L, Tth Indiana cavalry, 
who had managed to secret about his person a $10 
bill, went to the sutler and asked him for some medi- 
cine; Wirz was standing by when he came up; he said 
to Underwood "no you can't have it, except you pay 
me one dollar;' 7 Underwood pulled out the ten dollar 
bill, and handed it to Wirz; after waiting sometime he 
asked Wirz for his change. This, it appears, aroused 
the brutish anger of Wirz, who kicked the poor fellow 
out of the shop. He died shortly afterwards. 

There were hounds kept at this place to aid in cap- 
turing the prisoners if they attempted to escape; these 
were regularly mustered into the service as horses, 
and drew rations under Wirz's signature; they were 
the common plantation hounds such as were used in 
tracking slaves; at one time it appears there were two 
packs, one under a man named Harris, and the 
other, or more notable, under one Turner, a fit sub- 
ject to control a pack of canines; it would be a hard 
matter to tell which was the most ferocious, Turner 
or the hounds; the pack that Turner had charge of 
contained about fifteen hounds, including a loader, or 
catch dog, which was a sort of a bull terrier. This 
man Turner was a detailed soldier, and it appears 
owned the pack he controlled, and he has repeatedly 



338 ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 

said to the prisoners that he was making more money 
with his hounds than he could make on his farm. 

Every morning Wirz and Turner used to go around 
the stockade, with the dogs, to see if any of the pris- 
oners had escaped during the night, and if a trail was 
found they would gather together a party and start 
off in high glee; it may have been sport to them but 
it was misery, and sometimes death, to the poor fel- 
lows, for the dogs were invariably allowed to bite the 
prisoners. When the prisoners knew they were 
tracked they generally would climb a tree, and when 
the party came up they would order the prisoner 
down, and as soon as his feet touched the ground the 
dogs would fly at him and commence to bite him, and 
when the fiends were satisfied with this hellish sport 
the dogs were taken off, and the prisoner taken back 
to the stockade, and generally put in the stocks or 
chain gang. On one occasion, one of the prisoners, 
a lad, seventeen years of age, escaped from the stock- 
ade, but w T as brought back by the dogs and literally 
torn to pieces by them. Wirz and Turner were there 
and witnessed it but would not take the dogs off of 
the poor unfortunate boy. It has been proven that 
Wirz gave Turner positive orders not to bring any of 
the prisoners back alive, but let the dogs tear them to 
pieces. 

One of the witnesses stated that he saw one man, 
who had been caught by these dogs, brought into the 
stockade, his throat being frightfully lacerat d, he 
died the same day. Wirz, Doctor's White and Steven- 
son were standing by when the dogs were tearing the 
poor fellow; while they were doing it Wirz remarked 

that, it served the d d dog, meaning the prisoner, 

right. 




Private JOHN Q. ROSE, 
Company C, 8th Kentucky Volunteers, Admitted per Steamer New • 
York, from Richmond, Va., May 2d, 1864. Died May 4th, 1864, from 
effects of treatment while in the hands of the enemy. — U. S. General 
Hospital, Div. No. 1, Annapolis, Md. 61 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 339 

The hospital, or more properly, the slaughter-house, 
was situated outside of the stockade, within a stone- 
throw of it, and consisted of rows of old moulded and 
ragged canvass tents, so that when it rained the water 
would run down on the patients; the tents having no 
flooring the ground inside of them would become very 
muddy ; there were very few bunks in the hospital 
and the majority of the patients were compelled to 
lay on the bare ground without any covering. The 
sick were treated inhumanly; in a great many cases 
they had no medicine or attendance for days. In the 
month of June, 1864, they were without medicine for 
fifteen days ; there they would lay, some of them com- 
pletely covered with vermin, and too weak to clean 
themselves, and in this condition they would suffer 
until death relieved them. The stench from this place 
was awful, and could be smelled for a great distance. 
It has been stated that if a prisoner happened to 
scratch his hand, and stay in this place any length 
of time, he would be reported, the next day, as a gan- 
grene patient. Yery few who had their limbs ampu- 
tated in this place ever escaped with their lives, as 
gangreen generally set in. The poor fellows were 
almost destitute of food and would, beg the doctors to 
bring them bones so that they could break them up 
and suck the nutriment from them, and thus prolong 
life. Dr. J. C. Bates, a Union prisoner, stated that 
he would slily take things to the patients and drop 
them down where they could reach them. Seventy- 
five per cent, of the patients alone could have been 
saved had proper food been given them. The prison- 
ers, confined in the stockade; had such a dread of this 
place, that when one of their comrades was to be taken 
to the hospital, they would flock around him and bid 



340 ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 

him good bye, never expecting to see him again alive. 
Thomas Walsh, 74th N. Y. vols., says that he only 
knew of one man, (named Kelley, a seaman, belonging 
to his squad,) whoever came out of this place alive, 
but was taken back again, and there died. 

The grave-yard contained about twenty-five 01 
thirty acres of land, and was situated a short distance 
from the stockade. The dead were buried in trenches 
about two-and-a-half feet deep, and a slight layer of 
dirt thrown over them. The grave diggers were Union 
prisoners, and numbered from twenty to thirty men. 
These were kept digging all the time. The dead were 
brought out to the yard by the wagon loads, as high 
as fifty to seventy-five a day. They would be piled 
up in the wagons like cord-wood, one on top of the 
other. In the month of August alone there were 
buried in this place 2,700 prisoners ; in fact, the mor- 
tality was so great that the wagons could not haul the 
dead out fast enough, and some of the bodies would 
lay in the dead-house until they became mortified and 
alive with vermin, and would burst while being taken 
out. Many were buried inside the stockade. Wirz 
got in one of these wagons one day, and rode to the 
grave-yard; while riding he remarked to the driver 

that he was killing more d d Yankees than Lee 

was at the front. On one occasion a party of rebel 
officers visited the grave-yard, and while there, re- 
marked to some of the grave-diggers that the Yankees 
would make good manure. That it w T ould be a good 
idea to plant a vineyard there, and invite their north- 
ern friends down to eat the grapes raised from these 
Yankees bones. 

I will not detain the reader any longer, in describing 
this horrible pen, but will proceed to give a synopsis 



ANDERSON VILLE PRISON. 341 

of the evidence of those men which refers to personal 
cases. 

Thos. C. Alcoke, 72d Regiment, Ohio Volunteers, 
was a prisoner at Andersonville during the summer of 
18G4. On his arrival there he was robbed of every 
thing of value he had upon his person. The fiend 
Wirz officiated at the ceremony, and took from him 
$430, $150 of which was in gold. On one occasion ho 
saw Wirz going through the stockade, when a sick 
prisoner called him, (Wirz,) and said "Captain I am 
very sick, may I go out and get some fresh air." The 
only reply this monster deigned to make to so humble 
a request was to draw his revolver, ask the man what 
he meant, and in the same breath saying, "I'll give 
you air," then shot the unfortunate sufferer dead. 
After the shot was fired, Mr. Alcoke, who was stand- 
ing close behind him, remonstrated, and said some- 
thing about the cruelty of the deed, when Wirz turned 
around and reminded him, tauntingly, of his situation 
as a prisoner, and intimated that any attempt to cor- 
rect him (Wirz) was a sure way of drawing upon him- 
self a like fate. Nor did the affair end here; this fiend 
in human form had deadened his heart to every feeling 
of humanity, and consequently could not brook this re- 
proach. The next day Mr. Alcoke was ordered to tho 
blacksmith shop, where a ball and chain was fastened 
upon his leg, which he wore all the time he was con- 
fined there. But finally managing to get the irons off 
he made his escape from this second hell. 

When he testified before the commission in Wash- 
ington, a piece of paper was shown him, on which 
were drawn the most important points of that den of 
woe, where he had suffered so long, but was so near 
blind from the treatment he received that he could 
not recognise anything. 



342 ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 

Thomas Hall, U. S. Marine Corps, testifies, that 
while he was confined in this prison Wirz ordered the 
prisoners to fall into line, but as they did not move 
fast enough to suit him he drew out his revolver and 
threatened to blow out the brains of every one if they 
did not move faster. On a certain occasion he threat- 
ened to pour grape and canister among the prisoners 
if they did not desist from huddling together in the 
stockade. This was about the time that they (the 
rebels) were expecting a visit from General Kilpat- 
rick, who was then spreading terror and consternation 
throughout south-western Georgia. 

Mr. Hall had charge of one of the squads of ninety 
men, and the greater part of these died from the ef- 
fects of ill treatment. One day Wirz ordered Mr. 
Hall's squad to stand in line, a great many of them 
protested, telling him that they were to sick to do it, 
whereupon he drew his revolver and threatened to 

blow out the brains of every d d Yankee that did 

not comply immediately, of course the demand was 
complied with. He saw one poor crazy creature shot 
while in the act of reaching under the dead-line in 
search of some crumbs of bread that had been thrown 
there, he died immediately after being shot. 

James Clancy, 28th N. Y. vols., was confined in 
this place from June until November, 1864, and while 
there he says he saw Wirz beat a sick boy under the 
following circumstances: A number of prisoners were 
ordered into line in front of Wirz's head-quarters, and 
with them was this youth. While standing there he 
was taken very ill, and was compelled to leave the 
ranks and sit down on a pail near by. Wirz seeing 
him, ordered him to take his place in the ranks imme- 
diately; this the poor sufferer was unable to do; find- 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 343 

ing the boy did not move, be walked up to where be 
was sitting, and pulling out his revolver, he struck 
the lad a powerful blow on the head with it, which 
caused the poor sufferer to lean over on his elbows, 
he had hardly leaned over before Wirz gave the pail, 
upon which he sat, a kick throwing him to the ground 
and causing him excruciating pain; subsequently the 
boy was brought into the stockade by two of his com- 
rades; he died shortly after. I saw a man shot at on 
the dead line while in the act of reaching under it for 
a chestnut burr, which he intended to use in cooking 
his rations; the shot missed him and killed a man who 
was sleeping on the ground behind him. 

0. B. Fairclough, member of company E 7 Ninth 
New York cavalry, testified, that he was taken to 
Andersonville in the month of February, 18G4. When 
Wirz first took command of the prison, he deprived 
the prisoners of their rations because he could not find 
out the exact number of prisoners confined there; one 
of Wirz's favorite speeches toward the prisoners was 

to call them d d Yankee s of b s. On 

one occasion he kicked witness' stepfather when he 
was in a helpless condition, his arms and legs being 
drawn up with the scurvy. He could not get into 
line soon enough, when Wirz come up and kicked 

him in the side, remarking as he did it, ' l You d d 

Yankee s of b if you don't fall in I'll give you 

nothing to eat for a week." The kick caused a very 
severe pain in the side of the poor sufferer who died 
in a month after he received the kick. Just before 
he died he told his stepson that he was dying of sheer 
starvation, and implored him not to tell his mother 
how he died. Witness then wrote down what his 
stepfather said, and had him sign it, it reads as fol- 
lows : 



344 andersonville prison. 

Camp Stjmpter, 
Andersonville, Ga., August 21, 1864. 
Oliver: I die from sheer starvation, and don't for 
the world tell your mother of the awful condition I am 
compelled to die in. 

RICHARD FAIRCLOUGH. 

He died ten minuets after he signed the paper. 

On one occasion witness went to the hospital to S3e 
his father, who was taken there after he had 
been kicked, when the surgeon came to him and told 
him that he was going to vaccinate him, he refused 
to submit to the operation, as he had seen the effects of 
it, and believed it to be poisonous; on his refusing he 
was taken before Wirz, who called him a G — d 

d d Yankee s of a b h,and asked him why 

he had disobeyed orders. As soon as Wirz's anger 
had subsided, he asked to speak to him, telling him 
that he knew that the matter used was poisonous and 
that was his reason for disobeying orders. Wirz told 
him that it would serve him right if it did kill him, 
and the sooner he died, the sooner he would get rid 
of him. After a little further conversation, Wirz or- 
dered him to be placed in the chain-gang and to bo 
kept there until he consented to be vaccinated. 
Having observed that some of the surgeons were very 
careless in performing the operation, and that by tak- 
ing some soap, and carefully washing the arm, he 
would (and did) prevent any serious effects. He then 
proceeded to inform the other prisoners of the mode of 
preventing serious consequences from this outrageous 
villany ; but up to that time nearly all who had been vac- 
cinated had died from the effects of the operation. Wit- 
ness saw Wirz knock down one of the prisoners with 
his pistol, because he was man enough to complain of 
his rations. 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 345 

Frank Maddox, 35th U. S. colored troops, was sent 
to this den of misery in the month of April, 18G4. 
This unfortunate man had been severely wounded 
previous to being sent there, and while there his wounds 
were never attended to, yet, notwithstanding he mended 
slowly, and when he had nearly recovered, ho was 
taken out of the stockade and put to work. On one 
occasion he saw this agent of Lucifer (Wirz) knock 
a man, named Isaac Humphries, out his tent, at the 

same time calling him a d d smoked Yankee s — n 

of a b h. Calling a guard he ordered Humphries 

to receive five hundred lashes. The guard seizing 
him hurried him away, and stripping him, they laid 
him across a log, and whipped him from head to feet. 
The rebel sergeant designated to do the whipping 
made a mistake, and gave Humphries only two hun- 
dred and fifty instead of five hundred lashes. 

Maddox with a squad of others was ordered to go 
into the swamp to work. The majority of them ob- 
jected, because it was so filthy, when Wirz told the 
guard that was with them to knock them all in the 
head, and let them lay where they fell for the buz- 
zards to eat. 

On one occasion a prisoners blacked himself and 
went out of the slockade with the negroes, bnt he had 
not gone far when his absence was discovered. Wirz 
hearing of the occurrence ordered the man to receive 
thirty-nine lashes, saying that he had placed himself 
in a negro's place he should receive a negro's law; 
the order was promptly executed. He saw one man 
who attempted to escape, but was recaptured by the 
hounds, who had frightfully lacerated him about the 
neck, breast, and legs ; in this condition he was placed 
in the stocks, where ho shortly after died. Turner, 



346 ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 

the king of the prison canines, went to the grave-yard 
one day, where Maddox was working, and remarked 
that the other man who attempted to escape, with the 
one that had been placed in the stocks, resisted, and 
he allowed the hounds to tear him to pieces, and that 
he had left the body in the woods. 

The usual mode of punishing the colored prisoners 
was by whipping them; they were, as a general thing, 
placed by themselves in the stockade. 

James H. Davidson. 4th Iowa cavalry, arrived at 
this place of torture in the month of March, 1864, and 
remained inside the stockade until the 11th of May, 
when he was taken out by Wirz, and detailed as 
teamster part of the time. He states he was employed 
in hauling out the dead to the grave yard, which he 
says was three quarters full, when he left, (September 
11, 1864.) In many instances, after hauling out the 
dead, he was ordered to haul into the stockade a load 
of rations for the living. Saw one man who had been 
placed in the chain-gang die while in it, and he was 
buried with the iron collar around his neck; saw a man 
shot while in the act of picking up a piece of clothing 
which he had washed and hung up to dry, and which 
had blown under the dead-line; and while reaching 
over to get it was shot, and killed. On one occasion, 
in the month of April, as Wirz was coming into the 
stockade by the south gate, he walked close by one of 
the prisoners, who was lying sick on the ground, who 
asked him something which he did not like, turning 
around, he drew his revolver and shot the poor crea- 
ture, killing him instantly. 

Martin T. Hogan, 1st Indiana cavalry, arrived at 
Andersonville in August, 1864, and made his escape 
in the month of October, but was caught by the 




Private LEWIS KLEIN, 
Company A, 14th New York Cavalry, Admitted from Steamer New 
York, from Richmond, Va., April 18th, 1864.— West's Building Hos- 
pital, Baltimore, Md. 



;,i 



ANDEIiSONVILLE PRISON. 347 

hounds, brought back, and taken before Wirz, who, 
after heaping all sorts of oaths upon him, ordered him 
to be put in the spread eagle stocks, for sixty eight 
hours, without food. Had it not been for a few com- 
rades, who were bold enough to bring him food secret- 
ly, he would have died. He thinks that Wirz put 
him in the stocks through personal revenge. Saw 
Wirz knock a sick man down, and stamp upon him be- 
cause he did not walk fast enough to suit him. The 
man was too weak to walk any faster; the poor fellow 
was taken up bruised and bleeding, and died shortly 
after. 

O. S. Belcher, lGth Illinois cavalry, says that while 
confined in this prison he saw many acts of cruelty 
committed by Wirz, one of which was the murder of 
"Chickamauga," a cripple, under the following cir- 
cumstances. One day Wirz came into the stockade, 
and passed near Checkamauga, who called him, and 
asked him to take him out of the stockade, as he 
could not live in such a place, as the other prisoners 
tormented him. Wirz positively refused Chicka- 
mauga, who then remarked that he would sooner be 
shot and end his miseries than stay in the place any 
longer. As soon as Wirz had left him he deliberately 
walked over the dead-line, Wirz seeing him crossing, 
ordered the sentry to shoot him, but it appears he had 
some humanity left, and refused to execute the order, 
then Wirz went to another of the sentries and ordered 
him to shoot Chickamauga; he hesitated, when Wirz 
drew out his revolver to shoot him, (the sentry,) but 
he fired before Wirz could shoot him. The shot 
struck Chickamauga in the head, killing him instantly. 
After he had been shot some of the prisoners were at- 
tracted to the spot by the report of the gun. Wirz 



348 ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 

coming up ripped out an oath, and ordered the guards 
to fire into the crowd if they did not disperse imme- 
diately. Mr. Henshaw, after Chickamauga was shot, 
asked Wirz to allow him to remove the body; Wirz 
replied take him and go to hell with him. 

Saw a prisoner shot while he was going out for some 
wood under orders; saw another shot while he was 
trading with one of the guards; they were not near 
the dead-line. 

W. W. Scott, 6th West Virginia cavalry, testifies 
that on the 26th or 27th of August, 1864, that a sick 
prisoner w T as sitting on the ground near the gate, 
Wirz came along, and asked him if he could get up; 
the man answered that he could not; Wirz then pulled 
out his revolver, and beat the poor fellow over the 
head and shoulders with the butt end of it. It is not 
known whether he ever survived it. He says, one day 
as Wirz was passing around the prison, between the 
stockade and the dead-line, one of the sentries sta- 
tioned on the platform threw a brick at him, which 
struck him in the back; Wirz, after being struck, 
wheeled his horse around, and drawing his revolver, 
fired the contents of it among the prisoners. One of 
the shots struck a man on the head, but as luck would 
have it, it only took away part of the skin and hair. 

Rufus Munday, 75th Ohio vols., states that on or 
about the 21st of February, 1865, the prisoners man- 
aged to borrow a few spades, when they were returned, 
one of them was missing; next morning Wirz ordered 
the squad into line; one of the men being sick did not 
get into line soon enough to suit Wirz, and he picked 
up a brick and struck the poor sufferer on the head 
with it, knocking him down. On the 10th of March 
the men were ordered into line again, one of the men 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 349 

who was sick, after standing one hour, was compelled 
to sit down through weakness and pain, Wirz ordered 
him to take his place in the ranks, which order he did 
not hear, Wirz then w T alked up to him, and hitting him, 
knocked him down and then commenced kicking him, 
through great exertion the prisoner regained his feet, 
and took his place in the ranks; his face bleeding and 
terribly lacerated. 

A. A. Kelley, 40th N. H. vols., says that on or 
about the 10th of July, 1864, he saw one of the pris- 
oners faint and fall under the dead-line; one of the 
guards seeing him, shot him, killing him instantly. In 
August, 1864, saw a man lying at the gate, sick, with a 
large sore on his back, and it full of vermin; one of the 
sergeants standing near by asked Wirz to let the man 
be carried to the hospital for treatment; Wirz refused, 
saying "let him lay there and die." In a short time 
the man breathed his last. 

W. II. Jennings, 8th U. S. colored troops, says that 
he was put to work at digging a ditch about a month 
after he arrived at this place; being badly wounded 
in the thigh, after he went to work it commenced 
bleeding so bad that he was compelled to stop w r ork # 
Wirz hearing of this ordered him to receive thirty 
lashes, which were given to him by Turner; after re- 
ceiving the lashes he w 7 as put in the stocks, and kept 
there a day and night without a thing to eat or drink. 
This occurred in the month of March, 1864. 

S. B. Brown testifies that when he was first taken to 
Andersonville, he was robbed of his watch, and all his 
money, one hundred and seventy-five dollars ;.w T hile in 
this place he saw a crippled prisoner crawl up to where 
Wirz was standing and asked him to take him out of 
the stockade, as his leg w T ould never heal in that 



S50 ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 

place; after hearing the pleadings of the poor man, 
Wirz turned to a sentry standing near by and said, 
"shoot that one-legged Yankee devil." The sentry 
fired, the ball striking the poor sufferer in the head, 
killing him almost instantly. 

A. W. Barrows, surgeon, formerly a member of the 
27th Mass. volunteers, was taken to Andersonville in 
May, 18G4, while there, heard Wirz say that he was 
of more service to the Confederate Government by 
being in command of that prison than any four regi- 
ments at the front, also, that he would starve every 

d d Yankee he had in the prison; has seen men 

who had attempted to escape, but was caught by 
the dogs and brought back, one of the men had his 
ear bitten off, and his face terribly lacerated, another, 
ho says, was so badly bitten in the thigh and neck that 
gangrene set in, and he died from the effects of it. 
lie saw one poor fellow shot in the hip, by one of the 
sentries, through a hole in the fence while he was 
crawling, (being too weak to walk) up to a fire that 
some of the rebel soldiers had made, to get warm, 
the fire was six feet from the fence; Dr. White am- 
putated the leg the next day, the poor fellow died a 
short time after the operation had been performed. 
In September, 1864, while some of the prisoners were 
being removed to Savannah, Ga., one of them, through 
sickness, was unable to walk fast enough, to keep up 
with the others, and fell behind, Wirz seeing him, 
came up to where he was, and after cursing him, 
knocked him down and then trampled upon him; it is 
said that he died shortly after. 

Jos. E. Keyser, 120th N. Y. vols.', arrived at this 
slaughter-pen in the spring of 1864, in the month of 
April, he says a few of the prisoners received boxes 



AXDERSONVILLE PRISON. 351 

from their friends in the North, and in them was some 
moulded bread, which they threw under the dead- 
line; one of the poor starved creatures passing by 
shortly after, seeing it laying there, could not resist 
the temptation, and ventured under the dead-line for 
it: he had hardly grasped it when be was shot by the 
sentry in the head, killing him instantly, his body lay 
partly inside and partly outside of the dead-line. Ho 
says while confined in this place he only know of one 
instance where a man was warned back from the dead- 
line. He knew one man who died in the guardhouse 
with a ball and chain on him, heard Wirz give orders 
to the guards to shoot any man that came within fif- 
teen feet of the gate. 

J . Nelson Clark testifies that he has seen a great 
many of the prisoners, in the stockade, insane; saw 
one man who had become deranged go up and down 
the creek with his clothes off; when his meals were 
taken to him he had not sense enough to cook them; 
he finally died. One morning when he got up he saw 
a prisoner, who had hung himself near the place where 
he (Clark) slept; he had previously heard the poor 
fellow say that he would rather die than live in such 
wretchedness. He saw a prisoner go over the dead 
line, the guard fired upon, and missed him, the ball 
struck another prisoner confined in the stockade; the 
next morning the poor fellow was reported dead. He 
saw another man shot, about the last of July, while 
they were drawing rations. Also, saw another shot, 
near the gate, where the dead were carried out. 

Edward L. Kellogg, 20th N. Y. cavalry, says that 
he was bucked six hours at one time, because ho 
failed to report the escape of one of the prisoners to 
Wirz. A new prisoner who had just come in and 
who knew nothing of the existance of the dead-line, 



352 ANDERSONVILLE PRISON". 

went to the brook, across which there w T as no railing 
two sentries fired at once, killing him instantly. 

J. R. Achuff, 24th Ohio vols., and a few others, who got 
one of the guards to take them out to get wood, after 
he had taken them a short distance, they pounced upon 
him, took his gun away from him, and then ran, but 
the rebels were soon on their track, and Achuff was 
captured by the dogs, and taken back to Wirz's head- 
quarters. Wirz ordered him to be put in the stocks, 
where he was kept thirty-six hours without any food, 
and but two drinks of muddy water. He appealed to 
Wirz, who said "dry up or I'll blow your brains out." 
After thirty-six hours he was taken out of the stocks 
and put into the chain-gang and kept there thirty-two 
days. Saw Wirz strike a boy, who was a prisoner, 
over the head with a revolver; the boy was shortly 
after taken with fits, and died. He had a fit at the 
time he was struck, and two or three every day after- 
ward, until death ended his sufferings. Saw Wirz kick 
and beat a sick man who was a mere skeleton. About 
the middle of July as the men were carrying out the 
sick, there being agreat many,the stronger in their eager- 
ness to get to the doctor, crowded around the gate. 
Wirz seeing this, ordered the guard to shoot the d — d 
Yanks, if they did not stand back. A sick man named 
Hicks was taken to the hospital; the doctor said noth- 
ing was* the matter with him; Wirz commenced to 
curse him and told the men to carry him back to the 
stockade; the man died before he got back. One of 
his comrades, by the name of Geo. White, was taken 
to the hospital, he went up to him, saying, "good 
bye George, " knowing that it would be the last time 
he would see him alive; a few days after he saw his 
body in the dead-house. He asked Wirz, who was 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 353 

present, to allow him to cut a lock of George's hair. 
Wirz, pointing to the dead man said, "If you go there 
I will blow your brains out." In July some of the 
men were in the creek, bathing; a young sentry was 
on post, and with him a rebel woman. The sentry 
fired into the party of men, to amuse his companion, 
killing one of their number — they were not near the 
dead-line — after he had fired the woman jumped, 
cheered, and waved her handkerchief. Also saw a 
crazy man, who was naked, shot and killed. 

Mr. AchufT states that, when he was first captured, 
the rebel Gen. Wheeler took from him his pocket- 
book, containing thirty-five cents, and three postage 
stamps. Gen. Hindman took his hat and put it on 
his own head. This occurred near Dayton, Georgia. 

Thos. N. Way says, that while he was confined in this 
place, he was tied up by the thumbs, because he was sick 
and he was not able to stand up in line with the others 
that had been ordered to stand up. He says, that after he 
was let down he could not use his hands for two months; 
one time he tried to escape, but was captured, and 
brought back, and put in the stocks for four days, at 
the end of which ho was taken out, and four men 
ordered to carry him into the stockade, he being too 
weak to walk; as the men were carrying him they 
passed by where Wirz was standing, Mr. Way seeing 
him remarked jestingly, "I am very much obliged to 
you, captain, for having me carried as I am not able to 
walk;" Wirz remarked, "I will put you in the stocks 
four more days for that, and if you give me any more 
lip, I will shoot you; M he then ordered the guards to 
take him back and put him in the stocks. He says 
be was bucked and gagged one time for being late at 
roll call; he was also put in the chain-gang, and kept 



354 ANDERSON VILLE PRISON. 

there twenty-five days, for trying to escape the second 
time. 

B. Colligan says that while he was confined in this 
horrible hole he was kicked, and beat over the head, 
by that prince of fiends, (Wirz) because he did not 
answer to the name of Carrigan, his name being Colli- 
gan; at one time he was bucked three hours for com- 
mitting a minor offence. At one time the men 
crowded around the gate, and Wirz ordered the quards 
to fire into the crowd; one of the prisoners who had 
been out to get some medicine for his comrades was 
shot dead by the guards during the affray. 

Henry C. Lull, 146th New York vols., states that 
he saw a man by the name of Howe, belonging to a 
western regiment, shot on the 18th of August, 1864. 
The man, when he was shot, was about ten or a dozen 
yards from the dead-line. After he was shot the 
prisoners sent word to Wirz, and asked him to request 
the guards to be more careful, and not fire into the 
stockade at those whose who were not near the dead- 
line, but there was no notice whatever paid to this re- 
quest, not even an answer sent back. Saw another 
poor creature shot and killed on the 28th of May, on 
the east side of the stockade; he accidently stepped on 
the dead line in trying to avoid stepping into a mud- 
hole. 

Felix de la Baum saw a man belonging to a New 
York regiment, tied up to a post with an iron collar 
around his neck. This happened in December, 1864, 
and it was very cold at the time. The neck of the 
man was much swollen and bruised, and he was in a 
dying condition, being reduced to a mere skeleton by 
starvation. The man died two days after he was seen 
by this witness. Mr. Baum states that when he was 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 355 

captured ho weighed 155 pounds, and when he was 
released he only weighed 98. When he was first taken 
to the stockade, he, being badly wounded, asked Wirz 
for a bandage to dress his leg; Wirz asked him his 
name, after having told it to him, he called Mr. Baum 
a d d Frenchman, and asked him why he was fight- 
ing against the south? Mr. Baum did not reply- 

Prescot Tracy saw, during the month of August, 
a prisoner, by the name of Roberts, arrive, who, not 
knowing the regulations, went to the brook to get a 
drink, the ground being wet,he slipped, and fell in, as 
he fell his head went over the dead-line; Wirz saw 
him fall, and yelled to the sentinel, "why don't you 
shoot that Yankee. " The sentry fired and killed the 
man. Mr. Tracy had a comrade who died of starva- 
tion; this man asked Wirz for rations, he replied, 
"Til ration you in hell." 

John E. Marshal saw a man shot, in the early part 
of April, while the dead-line was being established; 
it was marked out, but the railing was not up; he also 
saw, about the same time, a German killed, in the 
north part of the stockade, while in the act of picking 
up a piece of bread which was lying beyond the dead- 
line; the sentry who shot him said, "I will soon have 
another furlough.' ' 

William N. Peeble testified that he was a detailed 
as a clerk, under Col. Farman, and acted in that capa- 
city about three months. One day while there he 
went up to the stocks; it was raining very hard; he 
saw one of the prisoners fastened in them, with his face 
turned upwards, and the rain beating in it, nearly 
drowning him. Mr. Peeble held his umbrella 
over him; subsequently he went to Wirz and requested 
him to relieve the man; Wirz replied let him drown 
and be d d, I don't care. 



356 ANDEItSONVILLE PRISON. 

W. W. Crandall, 4th Iowa infantry, saw a man be- 
longing to bis regiment badly bitten in the calves of 
his legs, by the dogs, while attempting to escape. 
When he was brought back to the stockade Wirz had 
a ball and chain placed on each leg, and thi3, notwith- 
standing the swelling that had taken place; Mr. 
Crandall requested a surgeon to have the ball and 
chain taken off. The surgeon took one of them off, 
remarking that he could not conscientiously take off 
the other. The remaining ball was kept on the man 
nearly three weeks. He saw one man put in the 
stocks for expressing a desire to see his brother. 

Lewis Van Buren, 2d N. Y. cavalry, says, when he 
arrived there, Wirz told him to count off his men; he 
d.d so, and found a surplus of two men; this he re- 
ported to Wirz, who commenced swearing and said 
they were flankers, at the same time putting a pistol 
to Mr. Van Buren' s head, and threatened to shoot 
him if he permitted flankers to get into his squad. 
On one occasion one of the men stepped out of the 
ranks to get a stick of wood, Wirz ordered the guard 
that was with them to shoot him; the man returning 
quickly thus saved himself; remembers seeing three 
men shot at once, in the brook at one shot, while they 
were getting water; one of the number was killed out- 
right; saw another shot near the north side of the 
stockade. The night previous he had attempted to 
go over the dead-line for the purpose of being shot; 
witness tied him to keep him from seeking his own 
life, but as he begged hard to be let loose, and prom- 
ised not to go over the dead-line, witness complied 
with his request. Soon after he walked across the 
line and was killed. 



ANDELSONVILLE PRISON. 357 

Father Ilamilton, a Roman Catholic clergyman, of 
Macon, Georgia, went there to find out the number of 
Roman Catholics that were confined there. The 
stockade was swarming with vermin. He has admin- 
istered the consolation of religion to the dying at the 
rate from twenty-five to thirty a day. He seen men 
walking about the stockade entirely nude. They 
seemed perfectly lost to all sense of shame and mor- 
ality. He had administered the sacrament to prison- 
ers who were covered with vermin. Some of the men 
were so far gone that they were unable to stand, and 
he was obliged to lie down beside them. Has seen 
them covered with all kinds of sores, and the sores 
covered with flies and maggots. 

Charles E. Tibbies saw Wirz take a man by the 
throat, and drawing a pistol threatened to shoot him. 
Mr. Tibbies while there was branded by the doctor in 
charge with caustic on the back with the initials U. S. 
The doctor remarking at the time "they will know you 
when they see you again.' ; 

Robert H. Kellogg says he went to the swamp, sat 
down on the bank, and commenced to wash; he heard 
the report of a gun ; looked up, and saw the gun of one 
of the sentries levelled at him. Shooting by the sen- 
tries was of such frequent occurrence that after a time 
he became used to it, and paid but little attention to 
it. Out of four hundred men that were in his squad, 
three hundred are dead. The greater part of them 
died while in this prison. 

A. D. Blair, 22d N. Y. vols., heard a man ask Wirz 
for a ration. He replied, with an oath, that they 
would get all they deserved, and that would be little. 
Had seen Wirz at the gate when sick men were being 



358 ANDRRSONVILLE PRISON. 

carried out; they notrnoving fast enough to please him, 
he would kick them and push them along. Mr. Blair 
escaped, and succeeded in getting about thirty miles, 
was recaptured, carried back, and put in the stocks. 
On one occasion he went down to the brook to get 
water; when he reached over the dead-line the sentry 
fired at him; the ball passing by his head, striking two 
other men, one of whom was mortally wounded, and 
the other slightly. 

Hugh R. Sneed, 39th Illinois vols., who was con- 
fined in this place, states that he smuggled himself out 
the stockade with a party of prisoners who were leav- 
ing the prison for exchange, as agreed upon between 
Generals Sherman and Hood. The men were ordered 
to march at the rate of eighteen miles a day, and all 
those who could not comply with this order were to 
be shot. One of the prisoners fainted at the brook, 
which was between Wirz's head-quarters and the de- 
depot, Wirz coming up fired the contents of his re- 
volver at him, killing him instantly. The lieutenant 
who had command of the squad remarked at the time 
that it was a brutal act. Saw Wirz push over one of 
the men. who was in the squad, and the poor fellow was 
trampled upon by the crowd, and when taken up was 
in a dying condition. 

C. H. Russell states that he saw one James Dun- 
can, the quartermaster of this vile hole, come into the 
stockade one day with a load of bread, a piece of 
which broke off and fell on the ground, one of the 
poor starved creatures standing by, seeing it, stooped 
down and picked it up, and greedily devoured it; this 
man Duncan seeing him, jumped down off the wagon, 
and beat the poor creature so unmercifully that he died 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 359 

in a few days after. On another day saw this same 
fiend beat a halfwitted fellow who had come to him 
and asked him for bread. 

Geo. C. Smith, 4th U. S. cavalry, saw three men 
killed in this horrible place Jby one shot; saw another 
poor fellow killed while in the act of picking up some 
crumbs under the dead-line; Wirz being on the plat- 
form, pointed the man out. and told the sentry to fire 
at the man. The sentry hesitated, when Wirz drew 
out his revolver, and told him if he did not fire imme- 
diately he would shoot him. The sentry fired, killing 
the poor starved creature instantly. 

Robt. Tait, 53d Pennsylvania vols., testifies that on 
or about the 1st of May, 1865, he saw Wirz inhumanly 
kick one of the prisoners who was too weak to stand 
up when he ordered the squad in which the poor crea- 
ture was to stand in line. Wirz compelled the men 
who were in the chain-gang to manoeuvre for the 
amusement of some of his friends who had come to 
the prison on a visit. Wirz fired his pistol at Mr. 
Tait one day for being out of line at roll call. Mr. 
Tait had a very sore leg, and was sitting down to rest 
it, when he heard Wirz coming, and he got up and 
started to run and get "in line before he (Wirz) saw 
him, but the fiend saw him before he reached the line, 
and called on him to stop, at the same time fired one 
shot at him, but it missed him, and he got into line 
safe, then Wirz came up and asked where Mr. Tait 
was, and said the whole squad should have no rations 
until the man was found. Mr. Tait stepped out and 
said he was the man, and the reason that he was not 
in the ranks was because he had a very sore leg, and 
could not stand long on it. Wirz, after some threat- 
ening remarks, said that he wished every d d Yan- 



360 ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 

kee's leg would rot off, then ordered him to take his 
place in the line. 

John A. Kane with a squad of others arrived at this 
place from Richmond, Va.,on the 10th of March, 1865. 
When they arrived there it was raining very hard; 
they then were drawn up in line, four ranks deep, and 
then marched through water knee deep for about a 
half mile, and then turned into the stockade. Mr. 
Kane became so sick from the effects of it that in a 
few days he could not attend to roll-call, and his ra- 
tions were stopped. When this was done he made up 
his mind to die, but his comrades helped him all they 
could, and in a short time he was able to attend to the 
call. On the 25th of July, 1865, he saw a rebel hos- 
pital guard shoot a sick prisoner through the thigh, for 
coming near a fire he had built to cook his rations, 
without giving the poor fellow the slightest warning, 
and in a few days after the poor fellow died from the 
effects of it. He says John Burk, 96th N. Y. cavalry, 
was shot in his right cheek; his tongue and upper 
teeth and three of his fingers were carried away by 
the same shot. He was taken to the hospital where 
gangrene set in, on the root of his tongue, which killed 
him. After he was taken to the hospital he wrote, on 
a piece of paper, that he was lying down when shot. 
The shot, he says, was fired at another man, but missed 
and struck him. The hospital book shows that he died 
the next day after entering the hospital. 

Sergeant Geo. W. Gray, 7th Indiana cavalry, while 
confined in this place tried to escape in the latter end 
of August, 1864, but was caught by the dogs and 
brought back, and then put in the stocks, and there 
kept for eight days. One day Mr. Gray, and a young 
man named Stewart, belonging to the 9th Minnesota 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 3G1 

cavalry, were sent out of the stockade, under guard, 
with a dead body. They had just carried it to where 
they were directed, and had just laid it down when 
Wirz came up and asked them by what authority they 
were there. Young Stewart replied by proper autho- 
rity. Wirz not liking such an answer, pulled out his 
revolver and shot young Stewart, killing him instantly. 
At one time there was received an order to parole 
some of the sick prisoners. Mr. Gray testifies that 
while those who were to be paroled were being taken 
to the cars, one of the sergeants asked Wirz to allow 
him to help some of them that were too weak to gain 
the cars; Wirz would not allow him to do it, but issued 
an order to bayonet all those who fell between the 
stockade and the cars. He also stated positively that 
he had seen many a poor fellow bayoneted while he 
was trying so crawl to the cars. 

J. B. Walker, 141st Pennsylvania infantry, says that 
while confined in Andersonville, he helped to take a 
man, who was dying to the hospital. Surgeon Russell 
was there when the man was brought in. After look- 
ing at the man the surgeon ordered them to take him 
back to the stockade, remarking that he would live 
until to-morrow. He says that on the 14th of Septem- 
ber, 18G4, he saw Morris Prinville, belonging to com- 
pany H, 7th Indiana infantry, shot in the head by one 
of the sentries. He says his brains were scattered 
around on the ground where he fell. Mr. Prinville, it 
appears, had been badly wounded at the battle of the 
Wilderness. Mr. Walker says that he pinned a paper 
on his breast, after he had fallen, saying that he was 
shot; he also made a report to Wirz of the fact. The 
following is a report taken of the affray from their own 
record book, which will show the reader how accurate 
they were in keeping their records : 



362 ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 

"Mr. Prinville admitted in hospital on the 6th day 
of September; died same day. Cause of death un- 
known. " 

Mr. Walker says that he saw two men killed by one 
shot from a sentinel's gun. On the 26th of October he 
was paroled, and put at cobbling shoes. He was very 
much afflicted with sores at the time, and Captain 
Wright, whom he was then under, said he should stay 
there until he got well. The captain gave him many 
things which he needed. The men outside the stock- 
ade were informed, on the 4th of March, 1865, that the 
rebel General Cobb would make a speech on that day, 
and that they could go and hear him. Gen. Cobb, in 
his speech, said he was sorry the prisoners at Ander- 
sonville had been captured. He would nave hanged 
them. He said if the prisoners should speak to the 
southern ladies they should hang them. He knew if 
Lincoln got him he would hang him; and if he ever got 
Lincoln he would hang him. In referring to Wirz,he 
said he was glad to find things at Andersonville as they 
were. Wirz was an efficient and meritorious officer. 
He said to the rebel troops, at the same time pointing 
over to the Andersonville prison, "look over to those 
men, and then go home and kiss your wives and 
daughters, and then strike again to gain your inde- 
pendence." He said he would feed and shelter the 
prisoners well, and he would (speaking in a deep-mean- 
ing tone, and pointing to the grave-yard,) treat them 
well. 

William Balser, assistant surgeon U. S. vols., testi- 
fied that he was on duty at Jacksonville, Florida, where 
he was engaged in treating the diseases of the prison- 
ers who came from Andersonville prison. The pris- 
oners, he states, were in a most horrible condition, and 



ANDERSONVILLE PRISON. 3G3 

many of them were merely living skeletons, filthy and 
lousy. The principal diseases were scurvy and diar- 
rhoea. The arms and legs of the poor unfortunate men 
were much swollen and drawn up, and upon the thighs 
and calves of their legs there were ulcers three and 
four inches in diameter. Pieces of bone and teeth 
fell from the mouths of his patients; their eyes were 
sore, and many were idiotic; and in many instances 
there was a softening of the brain. These diseases 
were attributed to exposure, bad food, and ill treat- 
ment in sickness. He had treated several thousand of 
these poor fellows, and does not believe one-half of 
them will ever be able to perform their usual avoca- 
tions again. Has also treated cases of gangrene; has 
never met with similar cases in our army; in many in- 
stances he could not make amputations, the patients 
being too far gone. During his practice in the United 
States army, which was three years and eight months, 
up to the time he testified, he never met with but one 
case of scurvy. 

The above conclusively proves to what extremes 
bad men will go to accomplish their ends. Allow me 
to say that Andersonville prison is only a fair example 
of the way that all the prisons in the south have been 
carried on. The smaller ones have been worked on a 
smaller scale, and therefore have not gained the noto- 
riety that this one has. The commander of this pris- 
on, Henry Wirz, suffered death for his crimes, on the 
gallows, in the yard of the Old Capitol prison, in Wash- 
ington, on the 10th day of November, 1865, at twenty- 
seven minutes past 12 o'clock, thus ending a life of 
infamy and crime wnich has scarcely a parallel in the 
world's history. 



364 YELLOW FEVER PLOT. 



YELLOW FEVER PLOT. 

The gun-powder plot of Guy Fawkes sinks into in- 
significence, when compared with the hellish attempt 
of one Dr. S. P. Blackburn, upon the lives of the inno- 
cent men, women, and children throughout the then 
loyal portion of this country. It is useless to comment 
upon it, the mere facts are horrible enough. I will 
therefore only give the evidence of those men who 
were acquainted with the secrets of the plot. God- 
frey J. Hyams, a resident of Toronto, Canada, testified 
that he made the acquaintance of this Dr. Blackburn, 
about the middle of December, 1863 , and knew he was 
doing work for the confederates. He says: I was in- 
troduced to Dr. Blackburn by the Rev. Stewart Rob- 
inson at Queen's Hotel, Toronto ; Dr. Blackburn was 
about to take south some soldiers who had escaped 
from northern prisons ; I asked him if he was going 
south himself ; he asked me if I wanted to go south, 
and serve the confederacy; I said I did ; he then told 
me to come up stairs, that he wanted to speak to me; 
I went up stairs with him into a private room; he of- 
fered his hand to me, as a freemason, in friendship, and 
said he would never deceive me ; that he wanted to 
place confidence in me for an expedition; he asked me 
if I would like to go on an expedition ; I told him I 
did not care if I did ; he said I would make an inde- 
pendent fortune by it — at least one hundred thousand 
dollars — and more glory than General Lee ; that I 
could do more for the southern confederacy than if I 
had taken one hundred thousand soldiers to reinforce 
General Lee j I considered after a time, and told him 



YELLOW FEVER PLOT. 3C5 

I would go ; he then told mo he wanted me to take a 
certain quantity of clothing — he did not say how much 
(coats, shirts, and underclothing) — into the States, and 
dispose of them at auction; he wanted me take them in- 
to Washington city, into Norfolk, and as far south as 
I could go, where the general government held posses- 
sion; he wanted me to sell them on a hot day or night; 
it did not matter what money I got for the clothes, I 
was just to dispose of them for what I could get; if I 
left, I was to inform Dr. Stewart Robinson where I was, 
and he was to telegraph or write to me; on the 8th of 
June, 1864, I was out in town attending to some busi- 
ness, and on my return my wife had a letter in her 
hand from Dr. Robinson, which he had just called and 
left there ; I called on Dr. Robinson and asked him 
what I was to do; Robinson said he did not know any- 
thing about it; he did not wish, himself, to commit any 
overt act against the United States government; that I 
had better take only enough money to carry me down 
to Montreal; I had a letter to Mr. Slaughter, who gave 
me directions to proceed to Halifax, where I was to 
meet Dr. Blackburn ; the letter was dated May 10, 
1864 ; from Havana I went down to Halifax ; Dr. 
Blackburn arrived there about the 12th day of July, 
from Havana ; he sent down to the hotel where I was 
staying, and I went to see him; he told me that he had 
clothing there, which had been smuggled off, and in 
accordance with his directions I took an express wagon, 
belonging to the hotel, down to the steamboat landing, 
and got eight trunks and a valise; he directed me to 
take the things to my hotel and put them in a private 
room, which I did, and notified Dr. Blackburn ; he 
asked me if I would take the valise into the States, 
and send it by express, accompanied with a letter, as a 



366 YELLOW FEVER PLOT. 

present to President Lincoln; I objected, and the va- 
lise was taken to his hotel ; he ordered me to scratch 
the marks off the trunks ; they had Spanish marks on 
them ; he told me a man would go with me the next 
morning, to make arrangements with one or two ves- 
sels going to Boston, to smuggle the trunks through; I 
went down to the barque Halifax, Capt. J. O'Brien; 
the officer, who was with me, said I had some goods I 
wanted to take to my friends as presents — silk and 
satin dresses, &c, and that he wanted to make an ar- 
rangement to smuggle them into Boston; the captain 
and he had a private consultation ; when they came 
out he consented to take them on the Halifax, and 
smuggle them in ; he took them on board his vessel 
that day; on arriving at Boston it was five days before 
we got an opportunity of getting them off, but he suc- 
ceeded at last in doing it, and expressed them through 
to Philadelphia ; from there I brough them to Balti- 
more, and brought five trunks to Washington; four of 
them I gave to a man representing himself as a sutler 
from Boston, by the name of Myers ; I understood at 
the time he was a sutler in SigeFs army; he said he 
had found some goods that he was to take to Newbern, 
N. C. ; my instructions were to make a market for the 
goods, and I turned them over to him. (The disas- 
trous effects of this plot was felt more at Newbern 
than at any other place, the cases at one time reach- 
ing the startling number of one hundred a day.) Dr. 
Blackburn stated, to deponent, that he would have 
about $100,000 worth of goods got together, that sum- 
mer; to be disposed of; he also stated that the goods 
that were in the trunks had been carefully infected 
with yellow fever, and the object in sending them was 
to destroy the army and every body in the country; 



YELLOW FEVER PLOT. 3G7 

Blackburn also stated that the goods in the valise, in- 
tended for President Lincoln, had been infected with 
yellow fever and small pox; the trunk I took to Wash- 
ington, known as big No. 2, I turned over to W. L. 
Wall & Co. , commission merchants, and they give me 
an advance of $100 on it, and after receiving the 
money I went back to Canada; on my way I met Mr. 
Holcomb,and C. C. Clay, at Hamilton; they both shook 
hands with me, greeted me heartily, and congratu- 
lated me on my safe return, and on my making a for- 
tune; they told me I should be a gentleman for the 
future; I telegraphed to Dr. Blackburn, who was stay- 
ing at Montreal, (as Mr. Holcomb had told me,) that I 
had returned ; the next night between 11 and 12 
o'clock, Dr. Blackburn came up and knocked at the 
door; I was in bed, but looked out of the window, and 
saw Dr. Blackburn; he told me to come down and open 
the door, that I was like all other rascals after doing 
something wrong, afraid the devil was after me; he 
was accompanied by James H. Young; he asked how 
I disposed of the goods, and I told him; he said it was 
all right if "big No. 2 " had been disposed of; that 
that would kill at sixty yards distance; I then told him 
that everything had gone wrong in my business there 
since I had been away, and that I needed some money; 
he said he would go to Col. Thompson and make ar- 
rangements to draw on him for any money I desired; 
he said the British authorities had solicited his atten- 
tion to the yellow fever raging at Bermuda ; that he 
was going on there, and, as soon as he came back, he 
would see me; I went to see Jacob Thompson, on the 
next morning ; he said that Dr. Blackburn had been 
there and made arrangements to pay me one hundred 
dollars when the goods had been disposed of accord- 



368 YELLOW FEVER PLOT, 

ing to his directions ; I told him I needed the money, 
he said "I will give you fifty dollars now, but it is 
against Dr. Blackburn's request ; when you show me 
that you have sold the goods, I will pay the balance; I 
gave him a receipt for fifty dollars on account of Dr. 
Blackburn ; this was the 11th or 12th of August ; the 
next day I wrote a letter to Mr. Wall, saying I had 
gone Canada, since he sold the goods, and asked him 
to remit to me the proceeds at Toronto ; when I got 
the letter of Wm. L. Wall, I took it to Col. Thomp- 
son ; he said he was satisfied with it, and gave me a 
check for fifty dollars on the Ontario Bank of Montreal; 
I gave him a receipt for fifty dollars on account of S. 
P. Blackburn. Jacob Thompson, rebel agent in Can- 
ada, had a perfect knowledge of the character of the 
goods, and told deponent that the confederate gov- 
ernment had appropriated $200,000 for that purpose; 
I went under the assumed name of J.M. Harris while 
in Washington. 

Mr. A. Brenner states that he was employed in the 
commission house of Wall & Co., in Washington, and 
says that a man, calling himself Harris, brought a 
package of goods to the store for sale ; I thought him 
a sutler returning home, and I advanced him one hun- 
dred dollars upon them and sold them the next day ; 
he said there were twelve dozen shirts, but there 
turned out to be more ; I rendered an account of the 
sales to him at Toronto, Canada, with the balance of 
his money, in accordance with a letter received from 
him directing it, which I have here; it is dated at To- 
ronto, September 1, 1864, and he states that he had 
written to me previously in respect to five trunks, 
containing one hundred and fifty woollen shirts, and 



YELLOW FEVER PLOT 3G9 

twenty-five coats, but had received no response, and 
asked me to send him a check on New York for the 
proceeds. 

Through some unknown cause the plot did not suc- 
ceed in Washington. 

Sanford Conover, of Montreal, Canada, testified 
that he knew Dr. Blackburn employed a man by tho 
name of John Cameron, for the purpose of taking 
charge of infected goods, to take them to the cities ot 
New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. Heard 
Blackburn say, about a year before this time, that he 
had endeavored to introduce yellow fever into New 
York, but from some reasons unknown it failed. 
Blackburn went from Montreal about January, 18G3, to 
Bermuda, or some of the West India Islands, for the ex- 
press purpose of attending cases of yellow fever, and 
collecting infected clothing, and forwarding it to New 
York city. 

Jacob Thompson, C. C. Clay, and Lewis Sanders, 
rebel agents, all favored the enterprise, and seemed 
very much interested in it. It was also proposed to 
destroy the Crotondam in, New York, and poison the 
reservoir. They even went so far as to take the 
measure of the reservoirs, and the amount of water 
that was generally kept in them, and had made a cal- 
culation of the amount of poisonous matter it would 
require to impregnate the water so far, as to render an 
ordinary draught poisonous, and the deadly kind of 
poison to be used was strychnine, arsenic, and prus- 
sic acid, and a number of other acids which Mr. Con- 
over did not remember. This scheme was spoken of 
in January, 1864, but for fear of detection was not 
carried into effect. 



370 BOAT BURNING. 



BOAT BURNING. 



Richmond, February 11, 1865. 
His Excellency Jefferson Davis, President C. S. A. : 

When Senator Johnson, of Missouri, and myself 
waited upon you, some days since, in relation to the 
project of annoying and harrassing the enemy by 
means of burning their shipping, towns, etc., etc., there 
were several remarks made by you upon the subject, 
that I was not fully prepared to answer, but which, 
upon subsequent conference with parties proposing 
the enterprise, I find cannot apply as objections to the 
scheme. First, the combustible material consists of 
several preparations, and not one alone, and can be 
used without exposing the party using them to the 
least danger of detection whatever. The preparations 
are not in the hands of Mr. Daniel, but are in the 
hands of Professor McCullogh, and are known to but 
him and one other party, as I understand. 

Second. There is no necessity for sending persons 
in the military service into the enemy's country, but 
the work may be done by agents, and in most cases 
by persons ignorant of the facts, and, therefore, inno- 
cent agents. I have seen enough of the effects that 
can be produced to satisfy me that in most cases with- 
out any danger to the parties engaged, and in others 
but very slight, that is: First, we can first burn every 
vessel that leaves a foreign port for the United States. 
Second, we can burn every transport that leaves the 
harbor of New York, or other northern ports, with 
supplies for the armies of the enemy in the south. 
Third, burn every transport and gunboat on the Mis- 



BOAT BURNING. 371 

sissippi river, as well as devastate the country of the 
enemy, and fill his people with terror and consterna- 
tion. 

I am not the only one of this opinion, but many 
other gentlemen are as fully and thoroughly impressed 
with the convictions as I am. I believe we have the 
means at our command, if promptly appropriated, and 
energetically applied, to demoralize the northern peo- 
ple in a very short time. For the purpose of satisfy- 
ing your mind upon the subject I respectfully but 
earnestly request that you will have an interview with 
General Harris, formerly a member of Congress from 
Missouri, who, I think, is able, by conclusive proofs, 
to convince you that what I have suggested is per- 
fectly feasible and practicable. 

The deep interest I feel for the success of our cause 
in this struggle, and the conviction of the importance 
of availing ourselves of every element of defence, must 
be my excuse for writing you and requesting you to 
invite General Harris to see you. If you should see 
proper to do so, please signify to me the time when it 
will be convenient for } t ou to see him. 
I am, respectfully, your ob't serv't, 

W. S. O'LAHM. 

On the back of the letter are two indorsements, the 
first being "Hon. W. S. O'Lahm, Richmond, Febru- 
ary 12, 1865. In relations to plans and means of 
burning the enemy's shipping, &c. Preparations are 
in the hands of Professor McCullogh, and are known 
to only one party. He asks the President to have an 
interview with General Harris, formerly M. C. from 
Missouri, on the subject." The other is "The Secre- 
tary of State, at his convenience, will please see Gen. 



372 BOAT BURNING. 

Harris, and learn what plan lie has for overcoming the 
difficulty heretofore experienced. J. D. 20th Febru- 
ary, 1865. Received February 17, 1865." 

The confederate government partially carried this 
incendiary scheme into effect. Lewis Harkins testi- 
fied before a military commission, in Washington, D. 
C, that he had at one time a large claim against the 
confederate government, for the burning of some 
steamers on the Mississippi river. The hospital in 
Nashville, Tenn., was burned by one these incendia- 
ries. Kennedy, the New York incendiary, was another 
of their agents. The Robert Campbell, Imperial, 
Daniel Taylor, and others were burned by men em- 
ployed by the confederate government. 

The many lives lost by this scheme will never be 
known. If the war had not closed as soon as it did, 
no merchantman, or any other vessel which carried 
the American flag, could leave any port with security. 
As it was a great many sailed under the colors of 
other countries through fear of this plot. 



tub end. 




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